Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed a plenary session at the Beica summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 24, 2024. — Reuters

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian criticized the 15-nation United Nations Security Council on Thursday for its inability to resolve the Middle East conflict. "The flames of war continue to burn in the Palestinian Gaza Strip and Lebanese cities," Pezeshkian stated during the BRICS summit in Russia. "International institutions, particularly the United Nations Security Council, which are supposed to be the guardians of international peace and security, lack the required effectiveness to quell this crisis."

Pezeshkian condemned Israel for crossing "the red lines" of various states and "inciting a fresh wave of violence and terror." Since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza, Iran has been vocal about the UN body's inactivity and ineffectiveness in ending the Middle East strife. Iran is currently engaged in a vigorous diplomatic push to secure ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon. These efforts are also intended to prevent the conflict from spreading across the region in response to Israel's threat to retaliate against an Iranian attack on October 1.

Tehran claims that the attack was in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, which resulted in the death of an Iranian general and the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, in late September. Iran supports Hezbollah and the Palestinian movement Hamas, both of which are engaged in combat with Israel. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, took to social media to criticize the UN for becoming "a disappointingly dysfunctional platform." He argued that the UN was "failing in its purpose" due to the United States' "unconditional support for the occupying regime" — Israel — "which has emboldened the regime to expand its aggressions and atrocities across the region."

The US is one of the five permanent Security Council members with the power to veto its decisions. Earlier in October, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of hindering the UN Security Council's efforts to end the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. "The inaction of the UN Security Council due to US obstruction is a disaster," he stated. Iran does not recognize the State of Israel and has made support for the Palestinian cause a cornerstone of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Security Council comprises five permanent members with veto powers — China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US — and 10 non-permanent members elected by the UN General Assembly for two-year terms. The current non-permanent members are Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

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