As Iran Threatens Escalation, Regime’s President Dismisses Role for UN Security Council in Easing Tensions

Iran’s president on Sunday ruled out the possibility of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) preventing a slide into a regional conflagration in the Middle East, as the regime in Tehran continues to escalate its rhetoric while mobilizing its proxy terrorist groups from Yemen to Lebanon.

Referring to the US decision four days ago to block a resolution on the situation in Gaza submitted to the UNSC by Brazil, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stated that “there is no longer any hope for this council to play a role in maintaining global peace.”

The failed resolution omitted any mention of Hamas atrocities against Israeli civilians during its Oct. 7 pogrom in southern Israel and did not acknowledge Israel’s right of self-defense.

“Hamas’ own actions have brought this on — this severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UNSC in rejecting the resolution. “And Hamas has caused so much needless suffering, death, and destruction. Every member state should condemn Hamas’ terrorism and cruelty. And every member state should call on Hamas to cease its endless barrage of rockets against Israel. This is not complicated. It’s not controversial. This is the bare minimum.”

Raisi’s dismissal of any role for the UN in the event of an escalation closely echoed the remarks of the regime’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who falsely accused Israel of committing “genocide” on Sunday.

“I warn the US and its proxy [Israel] that if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control,” he said at a joint press conference in Tehran with visiting South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor.

Clad in a hijab — the Islamic headscarf that has sparked unprecedented demonstrations across Iran over the last year, as the regime’s morality police have sought to forcibly impose it on women — Pandor nodded in agreement as Amir-Abdollahian warned that “any miscalculation in continuing the genocide and compulsory displacement can have serious and bitter consequences, both in the region and against the interests of warmongers.”

Earlier this week, Pandor spoke by phone with Ismail Haniyeh — the Qatar-based leader of Hamas — to assure him of “South Africa’s solidarity and support” for the Palestinians.

Over the weekend, Iranian opposition activists posted video across social media of a protest in the city of Zahedan following prayers at a local mosque on Friday. Among the slogans chanted was one that first emerged during the Iranian uprising of 2010: “Neither Gaza, nor Lebanon, my life is only for Iran!”

Like every other Friday, the people in Zahedan gathered to express their opposition to the Islamic Republic. Their chant for the day was, "Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, my heart beats for Iran."#HamasTiesWithIRGC pic.twitter.com/DGrzxFk4Jb

— honey khajehpour (@HKhajehpour) October 20, 2023

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