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Iran has been appointed Vice President of the UN General Assembly’s 78th session.
They join 15 other countries as well as the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Iran was then further elected to the First Committee – Disarmament and International Security, acting as Rapporteur.
Commenting on the decision, U.S. Representative, Chris Lu “dissociate[d himself] from the election”, stating Iran “defies UN Security Council arms embargoes, violates the human rights of its own citizens, and exports violence and weapons, fostering insecurity and inciting violence throughout the Middle East and across the globe”. “Iran cannot act as an honest broker in its role as Vice-President of the General Assembly because it has shown time and time again that it does not seek to enhance global peace and security but rather works against it”, he added.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, also criticised the move, stating that “Iran repeatedly threatens the State of Israel using harsh anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric”. “It is totally unacceptable that the leadership of a Member State of the United Nations would call another Member State a ‘cancerous growth’ and publicly call for its annihilation. This is a blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations”, he added.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the decision “defies all logic and reason” and is “an insult to the millions of Iranians protesting for their basic freedoms and to the justice, peace and global stability that the UN is supposed to stand for”.
The move comes after news in May that Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ali Bahreini, was invited to chair the UN Human Rights Council’s Social Forum, focusing on technology and promotion of human rights.
