There must be a response to Israel’s military actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly as the region braced for the possibility of an all-out war.
“Israeli state terrorism over the past few days in Lebanon, followed by a massive aggression with thousands of victims, cannot go unanswered,” Pezeshkian said.
“The responsibility for all consequences will be borne by those governments who have thwarted all global efforts to end this horrific catastrophe and have the audacity to call themselves champions of human rights,” Pezeshkian stated.
He had earlier told CNN that Hezbollah, one of its proxy groups, “cannot stand by herself against a country that is armed to the teeth and has access to weapons systems that are far superior to anything else,” he said.
Islamic countries have to convene to plan a joint reaction, Pezeshkian said, adding that Iran would hold such a conversation at the UN on Wednesday.
The UN Security Council is also expected to meet in the evening to discuss Lebanon.
“We must not allow for Lebanon to become another Gaza at the hand of Israel," he said. It was a sentiment that was also expressed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Israel has in the last year fought a multi-front war against Iranian proxies for the last year, including the Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Lebanon.
Iran directly attacked Israel in April, and the International community has feared that the proxy wars would descend into a regional Israeli-Iranian war.
Presenting Israel as an aggressor country
At the United Nations, Pezeshkian presented Tehran as a peace-loving nation and Israel as an aggressor country guilty of “genocide” in Gaza.
“It is Israel that has assassinated our scientists, diplomats, and even guests on our soil and supported, both covertly and overtly, terrorist groups like ISIS,” Pezeshkian said.
His listing of "guests" was a reference to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, an act which has been widely attributed to Israel.
“Iran, in contrast, has supported popular liberation movements of people that have been victims of four generations of the crimes and colonialism of the Israeli regime,” Pezeshkian explained.
“We have been siding with the people across the world who have flooded the streets in outrage against Israeli atrocities.
Condemning Israel's 'crimes against humanity'
“We condemn Israeli crimes against humanity. It is imperative that the international community should immediately stop the violence and bring about a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and bring an end to the desperate barbarism of Israel in Lebanon before it engulfs the region and the world,” he stated.
Israel, he said, has to stop the war in Gaza and admit defeat, that it has lost, Pezeshkian explained.
“Israel has been defeated in Gaza, and no amount of barbaric violence can restore its myth of invincibility,” he said.