Iran Asks for Global Unity to Defend Multilateralism

TEHRAN (defapress)- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at a UN General Assembly meeting in New York called on the world states for collective measures to promote multilateralism, blasting Washington for its unilateral decisions.

News ID: 77029

Date: 25 April 2019 - 18:39

Zarif addressed the High Level Meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate and promote the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace at UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

"Iran has long advocated multilateralism and diplomacy for peace. I've come here today to make the case that such collective diplomatic efforts are no longer the prudent option; rather, they are the only solution. If there were ever a unipolar moment in international politics, it is definitively gone," he said.

Zarif noted that Iran has consistently shown its commitment to multilateralism as the tenet of a robust foreign policy, and added, "A brief review of our diplomatic engagements just these past few weeks makes this abundantly clear."

"To our west, Parliament Speakers of Iraq's neighbors gathered in Baghdad last weekend to explore a new, inclusive approach to regional engagement, while last week I led a delegation to Damascus and Ankara to further our cooperation with Syria, Turkey and Russia on the Astana track," he said.

"To our east, our new special envoy for Afghanistan is engaged in a realistic regional approach to peace and stability, while two days ago, we hosted Pakistan's Prime Minister for talks on a multilateral approach to regional stability and fighting terrorism," Zarif added.

"To our north, senior officials of Caspian Sea littoral states gathered last week to operationalize the historic Caspian Convention we concluded in 2018, after 22 years of negotiations. Meanwhile, we are making progress on economic integration- including through the Eurasian Economic Union," the Iranian top diplomat said.

"To our south, we've facilitated the Stockholm process on Yemen and have also proposed a "Regional Dialogue Forum" in the Persian Gulf as an inclusive multilateral approach to cooperation and dispute settlement," he said.

Noting that 14 IAEA reports validated Iran's commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a multilateral accord that is enshrined in UN Security Council resolution 2231, Zarif said, "We have kept our word in spite of the failure of the western participants of JCPOA to provide the promised economic dividends to our people following the unlawful US withdrawal."

"I don't need to list the extensive, unlawful unilateralist policies of this US Administration towards my country or our region, but here is just a glimpse: extraterritorial imposition of domestic legislation; flouting of international accords and ICJ orders; arbitrary designation of armed forces of a sovereign state as terrorist; breeding radicalization through reckless and pointless forever wars; shielding of terror-sponsoring clients from their war crimes; and recognition of illegal and racist annexations." "As if this lawlessness is not enough, the US also punishes those who seek to fulfill their obligations under Security Council Resolution 2231-which calls for normalization of economic relations with Iran," he said.

"To defend multilateralism, it is imperative to deny the US any perceived benefit from its unlawful actions, and to forcefully reject any pressure it brings to bear on others to violate international law and Security Council resolutions. And in rejecting unilateralism, we all have a responsibility to collectively hold any government accountable for the consequences of any lawlessness," Zarif underlined.

The US has withdrawn from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers and has reimposed sanctions against the country.

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