Israel complains to UN of Iranian incitement
Ambassador Gabriela Shalev launches official letter to UN chief following Iranian VP's calls to make obliteration of Zionism a worldwide goal. 'Iranian leadership continues to incite destruction of Israel,' she writes
Israel has been responding to recent Iranian outbursts of this kind by complaining to the UN. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev wrote in the letter that Israel was strongly protesting "yet another litany of repugnant and appalling statements made by the leadership of the government of Iran. The Iranian leadership continues to incite the destruction of Israel, a fellow Member State of the United Nations."
Shalev stressed that this was part of an ongoing campaign against Israel, citing examples from the State's 60th anniversary. In honor of the occasion Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had stated: "Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken. Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is questioned, and this regime is on its way to annihilation."
"Such language is not mere rhetoric," she wrote. "Iran takes active steps to promote its vision of the annihilation of Israel. Iran actively supplies arms, financial resources, and training to Hamas and Hizbullah terrorist organizations –– both of which reject Israel’s existence and a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians as endorsed by the United Nations.
"Iran continues to support other terrorist and destabilizing forces across the wider Middle East and in other areas. Furthermore, Iran continues to defy the international community and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding Iran’s nuclear program."
She concluded, "Iran’s language, matched with its actions, represents a danger to the work of the international community and to the principles enshrined in the charter of the United Nations. We therefore expect the United Nations’ leadership and Member States to rebuke Iran’s poisonous language and dangerous deeds in a clear and vigorous manner."
Shalev's claims were validated by Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani's comments Thursday. Larijani referred to US president-elect Barack Obama's promise to put more pressure on Iran in order to stop it from developing a nuclear weapon and supporting terror groups. "We are proud to support Hizbullah and Hamas, and you are wrong for calling them terror organizations," Larijani said.
