Israel to Security Council: urgently condemn, act against Iran for maritime attacks
Israel’s Ambassador to the US and the United Nations Gilad Erdan dispatched a letter of complaint to the Security Council in the wake of the serious incident in which Iran attacked an Israeli-managed ship with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in the Gulf of Oman last week.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan, in his first address to the Security Council, Oct. 26, 2020. Source: Facebook/Gilad Erdan
An Iranian suicide drone is believed to have hit the oil tanker Mercer Street on Thursday night, a ship operated by Zodiac Maritime, a company owned by Israeli tycoon Eyal Ofer, killing a British and Romanian national.
In his letter sent Tuesday, Erdan demanded “sharp condemnation” from the Security Council against the Iranian regime, which “has committed war crimes and other murderous acts in the Middle East and around the world.”
“This latest attack is yet another instance of maritime terrorism undertaken by Iran on the high seas, similar to other recent attacks that I have already brought to the attention of the Security Council, asking that concrete action be taken,” Erdan wrote.
“Iran’s repeated brazen and murderous actions – which constitute grave violations of the United Nations Charter and of international law more generally – serve not only to threaten the safety of international shipping and navigation and disrupt international trade but to further destabilize a highly volatile region,” he noted.
He called on the UN Security Council “not to sit idly by in the face of such violations by Iran or by the terrorist organizations throughout the region that serve as its proxies.”
Israel, the US, the United Kingdom, and Romania have all blamed Iran for the attack on the ship.
Erdan added that “in this context, it is imperative to underline the pivotal role the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has played in sowing violence and destruction in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world.”
The IRGC is the main sponsor of terrorist groups and militias throughout the Middle East and Africa.
“Over time, the IRGC has developed dangerous and precise weaponry, such as attack drones and long-range missiles, which it uses against civilians and civilian objects in countries across the region, whether directly or by means of the terrorist groups the IRGC sponsors and supports,” he explained.
He called upon the Security Council to “address this string of attacks with great urgency and unequivocally condemn and sanction Iran for these malign activities. The Security Council must take all necessary measures to hold the Iranian regime fully accountable for its repeated and unrestrained gross violations of international law.”
In recent months, several other Israeli ships have come under apparent Iranian attacks on various maritime routes in the Middle East.
In February, an Israeli-owned ship was hit by an explosion in the sea of Oman. In April, another Israeli ship came under attack off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
Erdan sent his letter to the UNSC as reports of another Iranian maritime emerged. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Iranian or Iranian-backed forces seized an oil tanker in the Gulf off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Britain’s maritime trade agency reported a “potential hijack” in the area. Several other ships reported difficulties.
