Amir-Abdollahian, Guterres discuss Western interference over phone

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
11 Nov 2022 15:38

Guterres refers to the responsibilities of the UN Human Rights Council, denying any intervention of the Council in internal affairs.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Antonio Guterres (Mehr News)

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned against the negative consequences of the Human Rights Council's political actions concerning Iran's cooperation with the West through a telephone meeting on Friday with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The phone call entailed a range of discussion topics, one being the exchange of views on regional and international developments, such as Ukraine and Yemen, and included negotiations on the removal of anti-Iran sanctions.

Regarding the matter of the Vienna talks, Amir-Abdollahian called the cooperation between the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "proportionate".

This follows a phone call Amir-Abdollahian held with EU foreign policy Chief Josep Borrell during which he referred to Iran's cooperation with the IAEA, stating that an agreement for good and robust cooperation between Iran and the agency is in the works.

Western interventions

On the "baseless" accusations regarding the shipment of drones to Russia for the war in Ukraine, Amir-Abdollahian strongly denied those claims. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani expressed that Iranian senior and high-ranking authorities have constantly exhibited their stance on the war in Ukraine, with Iran's position on the matter already clearly understood.

He pointed fingers at provocations by the US and Europe for exacerbating the war in Ukraine and decried their accusation of Iran taking sides and spreading false information.

On a separate note, Amir-Abdollahian noted that by opposing the United Nations Charter, a few Western governments are inciting violence by abusing Iran's peaceful demands and turning them into riots. He added that they taught methods of making weapons and Molotov cocktails in a virtual environment and the media.

This comes after the Iranian High Council for Human Rights criticized Western countries and international human rights organizations for ignoring obvious evidence of human rights violations in their country, namely the non-reaction to the recent terrorist attack on their Shah-e-Cheragh shrine in Shiraz that left 15 dead.

Kanaani further denounced last month the UK's non-constructive approach when it comes to his country's internal developments by reiterating that Iran will take proportionate countermeasures in response to the non-constructive behavior. One of the approaches entails the recent sanctions imposed by the EU over the allegation that Iran shipped drones to Russia, which led Kanaani to warn that Iran "will definitely take reciprocal and proportional action in the coming days."

Guterres urges Iran on Yemen mediation

In response, Guterres referred to the responsibilities of the UN Human Rights Council, denying any intervention of the Council in internal affairs.

Guterres praised Iran's constructive role in fighting terrorism and mediating a ceasefire in Yemen and went on to ask Iran to maintain cooperation with the UN Special Envoy for Yemen affairs in an attempt to extend the temporary ceasefire in the country.

Referring to the recent meeting of the ambassadors of Gulf countries and Iran with the UN Secretary-General, the latter expressed hope that a new structure of regional cooperation can strengthen peace and stability in the region.

On the topic of the Iran nuclear deal, the Secretary-General expressed appreciation toward Iran's insistence on diplomacy and considered the revival of the Iran nuclear deal to be in the interest of all parties. He also went on to assess Iran's cooperation with the Agency as a positive move.