TEHRAN- Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations has said that Israel is at ease to carry on its genocide of civilians in the blockaded Palestinian territory because of the United States’ hostility to a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Amir Saeid Iravani made the comments early Wednesday following the overwhelming approval of a resolution mandating an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza by the 193 members of the UN General Assembly. Only 10 member states, including the U.S., voted against it, while 23 abstained. A resounding 153 member states supported the resolution.

The full text of Iravani’s speech is as follows:

I am taking the floor in explanation of Vote after the Vote. The situation before us is quite clear.

One member state, a permanent member of the Security Council, misusing its unequal authority of veto power, and in clear disregard to the united will of the international community, has decided to stand with Israeli criminal regime, and materially enable this regime in its ongoing massacre against civilians in Gaza. The United States blatantly opposing a cease fire, which means prescribing war, violence and eventually more death for children and women in Gaza.

As highlighted by the Secretary-General in his recent briefing before the Security Council, no place in Gaza is safe, and there is an imminent risk of a total collapse of the humanitarian support system. The Secretary-General, using his authority under Article 99 of the United Nations Charter, has urgently called upon the Security Council to intervene and bring a halt to the Israeli regime's attacks in Gaza. This call received full support from the international community.

The United Nations Charter initially predicted the power of veto as a tool to maintain and ensure international peace and security. However, today, this authority is frequently abused to obstruct the very establishment of peace and security. This trend is a clear alarm, signaling the imperative need to eliminate such discriminatory practices.

Over the past two months, we have witnessed a violent act of aggression carried out by the Israeli armed forces in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of more than seventeen thousand Palestinian civilians. The situation on ground entails all risk factors for genocide and definitions under Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which bear responsibility for all member states to impede and prevent its occurrence.

 Despite major objections from nations around the world, the Israeli regime has deliberately pursued and perpetrated the actions that entails war crimes. The regime has been pursuing the scorched-earth policy by deliberately destroying infrastructures and residential buildings in manner that there is no place to live in the north of Gaza.

These barbaric crimes must be addressed by the international community in a decisive manner and Palestinians must be protected internationally. Considering the major failure of the Security Council in addressing the situation in ground, we remind responsibility of all member states under international law, regarding the need to prevent genocide and war crimes and reiterate our call for regional and national measures that in any practical way could hinder the violence and deal with the current situation.

In conclusion, my delegation has voted in favour of resolution, considering the urgency of the situation and strong need to address the dire humanitarian conditions in Palestine and would like to put on record that our support for the resolution is without prejudice to our long-standing and constant national position on issues related to the question of Palestine, and non-recognition of the Israeli regime.