US endangering international multilateralism: Iran envoy

Majid Takht-e Ravanchi made the remarks, addressing a virtual meeting at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that was marking the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, in New York on Friday.

The envoy pointed to the US’s withdrawal from various international treaties, including the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers that the Security Council has endorsed in the form of Resolution 2231.

The United States unilaterally and illegally left the JCPOA in May 2018 and began reinforcing the sanctions that the deal had lifted. Washington has also been threatening other countries into toeing its sanction line and break their trade ties with the Islamic Republic.

Reminding the “poignant lessons” that were taught by World War II, Takht-e Ravanchi cited the US’s actions as clear modern-day instances of “systematic contempt” for the international law.

“Such policies have posed a challenge to multilateralism and jeopardized countries’ collective interests,” he said.

Takht-e Ravanchi said the UN was established as a center to be used by countries to coordinate their attempts to resolve international problems.

However, the US and some countries have undermined the world body’s credibility through their contempt and contravention of the international law, and resorting to inhumane measures such as sanctions, to which their foreign policy has become addicted, the official stated.

He finally called for the reinforcement of the rule of law across the world as well as international cooperation and interaction as means of doing away with the challenges that multilateralism has been faced with.