Iran's attack on Israel did not happen in a vacuum – it was a response to the shameful inaction of the UN Security Council, the Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, according to Sputnik.
“What happened on the night of April 14 did not happen 'in a vacuum.' Iran's steps were a response to the shameful inaction of the United Nations Security Council [and] a response to Israel's blatant attack on Damascus… by no means the first. Syria is constantly being bombed by Israel,” Nebenzya said.
“On April 3, the US and UK refused to discuss Russia's proposed draft UN Security Council statement on the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. London and Washington then cited the fact that there was no unity in the meeting's assessment of what happened. On Sunday, an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council is taking place in connection with the retaliatory strike that Iran carried out on the territory of Israel. Meanwhile, shortly before that, Iran's mission to the UN said that if the Security Council had condemned the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate and brought the perpetrators to justice, the need for Iran to punish the Israeli side "could have been eliminated,” Nebenzya noted.
A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia says Russia said it was extremely concerned by Iranian strikes on Israel and called on all parties to exercise restraint.
“We express our extreme concern over another dangerous escalation in the region,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on the Iranian attacks. “We call on all parties involved to exercise restraint.”
“We have repeatedly warned that the numerous unresolved crises in the Middle East, primarily in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, which are often fueled by irresponsible provocative actions, will lead to an increase in tension,” the ministry said.
