Iranian attacks amount to violation of sovereignty, Gulf states tell UN

UN Human Rights Council passes resolution demanding end to Iran’s ‘unprovoked attacks’ on countries in the Middle East.

Gulf officials have told the United Nations Human Rights Council that Iranian attacks on their countries amount to a gross violation of state sovereignty, demanding full reparations as the United States-Israeli war on Iran approaches the one-month mark.

Saudi Arabia’s representative to the UN, Abdulmohsen Majed bin Khothaila, condemned Iran’s strikes during ⁠an emergency meeting in Geneva on Wednesday, saying Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states were being attacked despite not being involved in the conflict.

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“[Iranian attacks] violate the UN Charter and international law. We must call things by their name,” Majed bin Khothaila said.

“To target a neighbour is a violation of the principles of good neighbourly relations. To target a mediator betrays all efforts aimed at peace and undermines any constructive initiative. To target states that are not party to the hostilities amounts to unacceptable and unjustifiable attacks that cannot be passed over in silence.”

At the end of the meeting, the 47-member council backed a resolution brought by the GCC and Jordan condemning Tehran’s actions aimed at closing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical Gulf waterway through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies transit.

The resolution, which is not legally binding, also demanded that Iran immediately “cease all unprovoked attacks” and called for full and swift “reparation” to all victims of its strikes.

Wednesday’s session in Geneva came as US-Israeli attacks on Iran – and Iranian missile and drone strikes across the wider Middle East – continued amid escalating international mediation efforts to end the deadly conflict.

At the meeting, Qatar’s representative to the UN, Hend bint Abd al-Rahman al-Muftah, said Iran’s attacks had “grave repercussions” that were “not only affecting peace and security in the world, but also human rights”.

“These attacks amount to a great source of concern for us, and we can no longer remain silent,” she said.

“To attack the electricity and desalination plants also involves serious environmental consequences and undermines rights that should be guaranteed by human rights provisions.”

The Qatari representative also noted that the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz was “a source of great concern, given the dire consequences it can have on the economy and supply routes”.

Kuwait’s ambassador, Naser Abdullah Alhayen, told the council that the Gulf was “seeing an existential threat to international and regional ⁠security”.

“This aggressive approach is undermining international law and sovereignty,” Alhayen added.

‘Dangerous and unpredictable’

Meanwhile, the UN’s human rights chief, Volker Turk, warned that the war has created an “extremely dangerous and unpredictable” situation that is pushing the Middle East towards an “unmitigated catastrophe”.

“The only guaranteed way to prevent this is to end the conflict, and I urge all states, and particularly those with influence, to do everything in their power to achieve this,” he said.

Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from Dubai, said the “GCC countries are looking for a seat at the table” at negotiations between the US and Iran.

“As Iran is going to look for guarantees going forward from the US and Israel, Gulf states will be looking for guarantees from Iran,” he said.

Basravi added that while the volume of incoming attacks in Gulf countries seemed to be decreasing in recent days, a small attack from Iran “can still create the same level of disruption since the beginning of the war”.