US responsible for all crimes of Israeli regime in Gaza: Iran

Iran's permanent ambassador to the United Nations says the United States is responsible for all crimes that the Israeli regime is committing against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Amir Saied Iravani made the comment as he was addressing a Monday session of the UN Security Council.

Iran's ambassador severely criticized the United States over its unbridled support for the Israeli regime’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

“The US … is responsible for all crimes of the Israeli regime, as it cannot commit any of such savage crimes in Gaza without the consent, order, and all-out political, financial, and military support of, and collaboration with, the United States,” the Iranian diplomat said.

He also slammed Washington for blocking measures taken by the UN Security Council to bring about a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory by vetoing all related resolutions.

“The United States [has] obstructed the Security Council's commitment to fulfill its [UN] Charter obligations in halting the Israeli war machine against the people of Gaza,” Iravani said.

He added, “One clear example is their use of veto here in this chamber that [has] prevented a ceasefire in Gaza despite the global appeal from the international community.”

“US, E3 responsible for current situation of JCPOA”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Iravani held the US and the European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), responsible for the current situation of the accord.

“The responsibility for the JCPOA’s current situation rests squarely and exclusively with the United States and then with the E3/EU for their multiple cases of significant non-performances of their obligations under the JCPOA as well as continuous systematic material breaches of their explicit legal obligations under resolution 2231,” Iran's UN ambassador said.

Talks to revive the JCPOA have been on pause since August last year. Iran blames the situation on a lack of political will on the part of US President Joe Biden’s administration to undo the damage caused to the multilateral nuclear deal by the previous US administration.

Former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the UNSC-endorsed agreement in May 2018, imposing severe economic sanctions against Tehran while Iran was adhering to its commitments under the deal and even continued to do so for a year after the US withdrawal.

Tehran scaled back its commitments to the JCPOA in a series of pre-announced and clear steps after witnessing the other parties' failure to secure its interests under the agreement.

Iravani reaffirmed that the impasse in the talks to revive the deal “emanates merely from the lack of political will on the part of the United States and the E3 (the UK, France and Germany), driven by their internal political considerations.”

MG