Now that Antonio Guterres’s services as the ninth UN Secretary-General is nearing to its end and it lays the ground for electing a more effective person for the job, we should evaluate his performance and give him a mark and in my opinion with such a very weak performance under influence of the world big powers he cannot get the passing grade.

His re-nomination for the job, regarding the structure of electing the UN Secretary-General officially and directly under the supervision of the five permanent and veto-right holding members, raises a question that has remained unanswered in all periods.

With reviewing different periods, the world is witnessing this important issue that there has scarcely been any secretary-general at the UN to have performed at least 10 percent independently. It is deplorable that secretary generals of the UN have not been able to implement the goals which have been approved, written, and published by the UN and it has disappointed and frustrated the world people towards this body and it should be admitted that unfortunately the predicted goals and principles in the UN charters have also deviated or they have lost their efficiency and effects.

When we analyze the role of the UN Secretary-General, we find contents fully biased wherein American, British, and French and – to the little extent of placebo – Russian and Chinese goals are hidden. Therefore, the UN Secretary-General is actually struggling with this accusation of being busy as the brokerage of big powers and indeed he cannot have the necessary efficiency to vindicate the undoubted rights of the world people and even those who have suffered.

The weak performance of Guterres as the UN Secretary-General regarding some important international issues has been actually the shameful spot in the performance of this organization during his term. With a glance and very brief, one can mention that in this edition, some serious crisis has happened internationally that the UN ignored its role regarding them like the issue of Daesh (IS forces) which was not only the issue of deviation but also it really created a sham state between Iraq and Syria by committing rape against women, and some countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE even took some actions for recognizing that government.

The disaster was that no country tried to stop the advancement of this terrorist group and sham government and if there was, and it was the Islamic Republic of Iran which bravely fought and resisted strongly and devoted several martyrs on this path otherwise today we could face with the emergence of second Israel in the region while the UN with this secretary-general had chocked into silence. Of the other signs of the inefficiency of Guterres or any other secretary-general of the UN is that in the structure of the UN, electing the secretary-general is fully in control of the five veto power countries and wherever these countries either clandestinely or even openly deal together politically, the world sees the cruel silence of the UN and its secretary because in electing the secretary-general all of these veto powers in the UN Security Council should approve the candidate and this approval is not just limited to electing the secretary-general and for other jobs in this body, the story is the same. For example in electing the financial deputy of the UN, the French are very sensitive and they pick their favorite candidates in advance and announce who is next to run the financial department of the UN.

On social and political issues, the British pick their candidates for the jobs. In the military and critical issues, it is the U.S. that picks its official agent. So it is seen that Americans have entered Iraq and Iraq parliament has officially approved the pullout of the U.S. troops but they create different pretexts and are not ready to pull out their forces from Iraq. The U.N. Secretary-General takes no action to settle this issue. The UN is totally silent regarding the international terrorism led by the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and the Zionist regime. The assassination of martyr Haj Qasem Soleimani, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and their comrades was snubbed by the U.N. blindness and speechlessness. It also fully ignored killing and dismembering the corpse of Saudi Arabian journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

The UN has actually violated its own convention in pushing the world towards terrorism from the assassination of nuclear scientists to the political and security assassinations. Violation of diplomatic rights, Conventions 1961 and 1963 and especially the Convention 1961, violation of human rights convention and diplomatic conventions have meant disregarding the UN by the UN itself that the Secretary-General could have played a more effective role in these regards but because of being under influence of the U.S. or other big powers, he has unfortunately left the worst performance regarding the assassination of Marty Soleimani and some other issues.

In the issue of Iran’s ballistic missiles, every country has the right to have ballistic missiles and it is considered as the defensive pillar and essentially it has nothing to do with any other country to stop other countries in this regard. But Americans did what they could against Iran as if there existed no UN Secretary-General to explain and defend the rightfulness of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Recently and on the anniversary of Mabaath, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in his speech said one of the modus operandi of enemies in the soft war is to distort the truth 180 degrees and referred to some of the obvious lies and said, “It has been six years now that the U.S.’s Arab ally has been bombarding the oppressed people of Yemen in their homes and on the streets, in hospitals and at school. The people have been besieged and their supplies of food, medicine, and oil have been cut off. And of course, this has happened with the U.S.’s go-ahead. Now the Yemenis have managed to create defensive weapons for themselves by benefiting from certain opportunities, they and even the UN raised an outcry against Yemen’s campaign of self-defense.”

The Leader also stated that “Having the largest nuclear weapons arsenal in the world and massacring over 220,000 people by A-Bomb while screaming that they are against the development of atomic weapons,” “Creating the terrorist group like the Daesh and providing them with money, facilities, modern technology and media, the ground for selling Syria’s oil by them with the claim of a fight with terrorism” are the other examples of distortion of the truth by the U.S. Administration and the UN’s deadly silence.

On the whole, it should be acknowledged that not only Guterres but also the UN nature in the current condition, before being a defender of truth, rights, and security of the countries and the world, is mostly a justifier of power and tyranny current and massacre of the innocent people in any part of the world, and as long as this issue is not resolved, the universal disaster will not be resolved, either.

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“Over the current decade, several top Iranian scientists have been targeted and assassinated in terrorist attacks and our firm evidence clearly indicates that certain foreign quarters have been behind such assassinations,” the letter added.

“Warning against any adventuristic measures by the United States and Israel against my country, particularly during the remaining period of the current administration of the United States in office, the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its rights to take all necessary measures to defend its people and secure its interests,” it said.

Referring to the significant role of martyr Fakhrizadeh in combating the COVID-19 disease in Iran, Majid Takht-Ravanchi said, “One of the latest services of Martyr Fakhrizadeh was his outstanding role in the development of the first indigenous COVID-19 test kit, which is a great contribution to our national efforts in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic at a time when Iran is under inhumane sanctions of the United States, strictly preventing our access to humanitarian goods including medicines and medical equipment.”

He also urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council to strongly condemn the terrorist act and take necessary measures against its perpetrators.

Fakhrizadeh-Mahavadi was targeted on Friday in a multi-pronged attack involving at least one explosion and small fire by several assailants in Absard city of Damavand County, Tehran province.

According to the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Defense, the prominent physicist, who headed its Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), was sent to hospital immediately but was martyred due to the wounds he had sustained in the terrorist assault.

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Fighting between Yemeni government forces in the southern port city of Aden has continued for a third consecutive day, with reports of at least 20 people killed.

The violence threatens to open a new front in the country’s devastating war, exposing a rift in a Saudi-led military alliance that has been battling the Houthi movement since 2015.

At least five civilians were among the dead and dozens were wounded in Friday’s violence, according to doctors and security officials who spoke to news agencies and other reporters on the condition of anonymity.

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The administration of US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Zarif on Wednesday, saying in its statement that Zarif is Iran’s “primary spokesperson around the world,” and that the ban “is sending a clear message that Iran’s recent behavior is completely unacceptable.” The move was quickly condemned by Iranian officials as well as the international community because of its contradiction to the international law.

Zarif said Monday that that imposing sanction on a country’s foreign minister means “failure in negotiations, failure in diplomacy, and opposition to dialogue.”

Here is the full text of Iran’s mission letter to Guterres:

I am writing to you to bring to your kind attention yet another unlawful and undiplomatic move by the government of the United States against my country, i.e. the imposition of illegal sanctions against H.E. Dr. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in gross violation of the fundamental norms and principles of international law, including the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

Ironically, the officials of the current administration of the United States have claimed that the illegal sanctions have been imposed due to the role and position of our Foreign Minister, who is the responsible authority for the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Infatuated with rogue, unreasonable conducts at the international level, this well signifies that the U.S. regime despises diplomacy, which is one of the greatest achievements of humanity to preserve and uphold peace and security among nations.  It reveals the deeply-rooted hypocrisy of the United States’ authorities in their different but paradoxical claims.

Although the unlawful move is claimed to target Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, considering the official and shameless claims of the U.S. administration, this illegal restriction is part of its overall policy in waging economic terrorism against the Iranian people and bringing pressure to bear on their representatives.

The Islamic Republic of Iran deems such illegal action a flagrant infringement of the fundamental principles of diplomatic law, in particular the principle of inviolability and immunity of high-ranking foreign officials, including immunity of incumbent ministers of foreign affairs, as a universally accepted norm and rule of customary international law.

Taking into account the restrictions imposed on the travel and activities of Minister Zarif during his recent visit to New York to participate in the United Nations events, the U.S.’ illegal action is also in brazen violation of Article 105(2) of the United Nations Charter regarding the privileges and immunities of representative of Member States in exercising their functions in connection with the United Nations. In this context, any restriction on discharging the duties of Ministers of Foreign Affairs is also in contravention of the Convention on the Privileges and immunities of the United Nations, the well-established customary principles enshrined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations.

Likewise, it is in contradiction with many relevant consensual resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly, the latest of which is resolution  73/212 that, by underlining the obligation of the United States for the observance of the privileges and immunities of the missions accredited to the United Nations, “which cannot be subject to any restrictions arising from the bilateral relations of the host country”, “urges the host country to remove without delay any restrictions applied”  and “to ensure respect for such privileges and immunities”.

Furthermore, the principle of diplomatic immunity lies at the core of international law and any derogation from this principle is a serious threat to the sound conduct of normal international relations and the promotion of cooperation among States. The illegal imposition of sanctions on the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran also violates the principle of sovereign equality of States and the principle of par in parem non habet imperium, which constitutes the basis for the immunity ratione materiae of States officials, including in particular ministers of foreign affairs.

At the same time, the ramifications of the United States’ unlawful action are not confined to the legal context only. The brazen violation of the fundamental principles of international law, which have thrived and been respected throughout history, and coercing nations into complying with the United States’ illegal demands threatens multilateralism, as the foundation of international relations, and sets a dangerous precedent, paving the way for those who aspire to rather divide, not unite, nations.

It will also undermine the call for dialogue and diplomacy and embolden those who seek to endanger international stability and peaceful co-existence of nations.

Thus, it is imperative for the international community to condemn the United States’ unlawful behavior in the interest of promoting multilateralism.

The United Nations, its Member States and its bodies should stand firm in defending the established principles of international law. Respectfully, the Islamic Republic of Iran expects your Excellency to play your active role in preserving the integrity of the United Nations in line with your responsibility to counter the current dangerous trend.

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“Such action by the Islamic Republic of Iran would not help preserve the plan, nor secure the tangible economic benefits for the Iranian people. It is essential that this issue … be addressed through the mechanism established by the JCPOA,” United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters, according to Reuters, after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed on Monday that Iran’s stock of enriched uranium had exceeded the 300 kg limit under the deal.

Meanwhile, Israeli regime’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Europe on Monday to impose “automatic sanctions” after Iran’s announcement.

Furthermore, Britain said on Monday it was urgently considering its next steps with its partners under the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

This is while the JCPOA, once a multi-national deal, has been a one-way agreement only implemented by the Iranian side as US unilaterally withdrew from it last year and the European sides did not take any practical measures to secure Iran’s economic interests as promised as part of the agreement.

Iran’s decision to reduce commitments to the JCPOA comes in response to the violations of other signatories to the agreement. It says suspended measures will be resumed once the European sides start living up to their commitments.

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“We would ask all parties to lower the rhetoric and lower the threshold of action as well,” Dujarric added.

Dujarric’s remarks came amid concerns about a potential military conflict between the United States and Iran.

US President Donald Trump’s threatened Iran in a tweet made late last week, saying that a fight against the United States would be its “official end.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in response, warned Trump that he should never threaten Iranians, and called on Trump to try “respect” instead of  “economic terrorism” and “genocidal taunts”.

In a letter to UN Security Council, Iran has warned about the recent alarming security situation in the Persian Gulf region, saying that while it will never choose war as an option, the country is entitled to self-defense.

“Iran will never choose war as an option or strategy in pursuing its foreign policy. But if war is imposed on us, Iran will exercise its inherent right to self-defense in order to defend its nation and to secure its interests,” wrote Iranian Ambassador to UN, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, in a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

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