“Israel is the source of insecurity”: Iran official at UN

Iran’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN Eshaq Al-e-Habib says Israel’s expansionist and provocative approach is the cause of the escalating insecurity in the Middle East.

“The expansionist and provocative approach of the Zionist regime (Israel) in the Middle East and [its] violation of the human rights of the Palestinians is the cause of the escalation of tension and insecurity in the region,” Al-e-Habib said on Monday.

“The bombardment of the Gaza Strip by Israeli fighters has led to the martyrdom of many Palestinians including women and children, and has deprived 1.5 million Palestinians of [their] basic needs,” he added.

The Iranian official called on the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the international community to take measures in order to stop Israel’s violence and the expansion of its illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territories.

Al-e-Habib also criticized ‘the unfounded and irresponsible’ remarks by foreign officials, regarding the three Iranian islands of Abu Mousa, the Greater and the Lesser Tunb in Persian Gulf.

“These islands have always been an inseparable part of Iran and Tehran will categorically reject any claims against this principle,” he went on to say.

On April 11, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the Iranian Island of Abu Musa in the Persian Gulf as part of his tour of the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan.

On the same day, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan criticized the visit as a “violation of UAE sovereignty over its territories.”

The islands of the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa have historically been part of Iran, proof of which can be found and corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world.

However, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly laid claims to the islands.