Israel to UN: Iran ‘Sows Violence and Bloodshed Throughout Region’

“From Syria to Yemen, the Iranian regime sows violence and bloodshed throughout the region and supports terror in almost every country,” Danon said.

By: United with Israel Staff

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met on Monday for a special session, “Peace and Security: A Comprehensive Review of the Situation in the Middle East and North Africa,” during which Israel and the US identified Iran as the source of strife in the region.

The meeting was an initiative of the Russian Federation, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month.

Prior to the meeting, Israel’s representative to the UN Danny Danon stated that “there can be no doubt that the main source of all instability in the Middle East is Iran. From Syria to Yemen, the Iranian regime sows violence and bloodshed throughout the region and supports terror in almost every country.”

He said that the international community “must understand that the first step for creating security and stability in our region is to uncompromisingly confront the Iranian regime.”

During the session, the US Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Jonathan Cohen charged that “a major cause of conflict in the Middle East” is Iran and its proxy militia, Hezbollah.

“In warzone after warzone, and terrorist act after terrorist act, we find Iran and Hezbollah at the root of violence in the Middle East,” he noted.

Iran is currently involved in conflicts in Iraq, Yemen, Oman, Syria, Lebanon and Morocco.

He highlighted Iran’s “repeated and blatant violations of Security Council Resolution 2231 and others.”

UNSC Resolution 2231, which endorsed the Iran nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany), explicitly prohibits Iran from tests and other activity on ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

“The Security Council unanimously prohibited Iran from transferring weapons to other countries. And yet Iran is the source of weapons in conflicts across the region, from Yemen to Syria to Lebanon,” Cohen added.

“The Security Council unanimously called on Hezbollah to disarm. But the leaders of Hezbollah talk openly about the continuing support they receive from Iran. In the words of one Hezbollah leader, “Everything [Hezbollah] eats and drinks, its weapons and rockets, comes from the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the envoy said.

Later this week, the UNSC will meet to talk about the Secretary-General’s latest report on the implementation of Resolution 2231. “The findings of this report provide even more evidence of Iran fueling conflicts with the supply of banned weapons,” he revealed.

Power Through the Spread of Violence and Human Misery

Keeping with the theme of the session, Cohen pointed out that “these are the root causes of conflict in the Middle East: leadership that is unwilling to compromise; Hamas terrorists who sacrifice the well-being of civilians for their own militant objectives; Hezbollah terrorists who roam the Middle East like a rogue, mercenary army; and a regime in Iran that seeks political, military, and territorial advantage through the spread of violence and human misery.”

Cohen continued, “What ties it all together is the people’s lack of voice in their own governance. The people who pay the price of conflict have little or no say in when or if it ends. And those who stand to gain from conflict – like the regime in Tehran – pay no penalty for the suffering they cause.”

On the issue of the humanitarian crises in Gaza and the suffering of the people there, Cohen pointed to Hamas as the root of this calamity.

“Hamas, a terrorist group that took power in 2007, has since served as the de facto authority in Gaza. In the eleven years that followed, Hamas has demonstrated far more interest in initiating violence than in caring for the Palestinian people,” he stated.

“At the root of these conflicts are groups, like Hamas and ISIS [the Islamic State terror organization], willing to make a ruthless, blood-thirsty trade-off: they sacrifice innocent civilians in order to accomplish their political objectives. Children and families are either used to provide cover for their military infrastructure, or they become victims of attacks intended to rally the international media to their overlords’ cause, either way, ensuring that emotions harden and that conflicts continue,” he said.

He concluded by saying that the US believes that peace is possible in the Middle East “because we believe in the right of people to govern themselves. We will continue to pursue the causes of peace, freedom and human rights in the Middle East, and with these, the end to conflicts that have for too long plagued the people of this great region.”