Iran flatly denies US obstructive claims

Iran has vehemently dismissed Washington’s allegations regarding Tehran’s membership in a UN-affiliated body.

US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power on Wednesday criticized the election of Iran to the United Nations’ committee on non-governmental organizations, claiming that it was a “troubling outcome.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran finds these assertions both unconstructive, obstructive and against the spirit of cooperation between sovereign member states and the principles of sovereign equality of states,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in a press release.

It added that Iran has routinely adopted an “effective and constructive” approach to all multilateral issues within the framework of the UN and to the country’s bilateral relationship with other states over the past decades.

“The civil society and thousands of NGOs are actively pursuing their goals in different areas such as social, economic, environmental, political, women and human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the mission pointed out.

It is obvious that Iran’s “active presence in UN bodies will be helpful” and serve the attainment of non-governmental organizations’ objectives, it added.

The UN Economic and Social Council on Wednesday elected Iran and 18 other members to four-year terms starting January 1, 2015. The others were Burundi, Guinea, Mauritania, South Africa, Sudan, China, India, Pakistan, Azerbaijan Republic, Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Venezuela, Greece, Israel, Turkey and the United States.