Monday, April 15, 2024

Iran's retaliatory strike on Israel for bombing its Consulate - after the UN failed to respond as required? When UN fails, victimized States will act on its own- not good?

Iran's RETALIATORY STRIKE - it was Israel that attacked Iran first...

If only the United Nations had responded speedily and  strongly to the bombing of the Iranian Embassy in Syria by Israel  on 1/4/2024 - but sadly the UN Security Council did not. Neither did the UN Secretary General?

On Monday, Israel bombed a building that was part of the Iranian Embassy complex in Damascus, killing seven people, including Gen. Mohamad Reza Zahedi, who oversaw Iran’s covert military operations in Syria and Lebanon, and two other senior generals. - New York Times, 2/4/2024

Then, after waiting and waiting for a response from the world body...

Iran unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones on Saturday and during the early hours of Sunday, targeting Israel in retaliation for last week’s suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus that killed 13 people. - Al Jazeera, 14/4/2024

After waiting for about 2 weeks, Iran retaliated  and look at the speed of the UN's response to Iran's retaliatory strike that did not even result in deaths...(No report that any or many were killed in Israel to date)

Well, the UN Secretary General 

I strongly condemn the serious escalation represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran this evening. I call for an immediate cessation of these hostilities. - UN Secretary General, 13/4/2024
Points to note

The UN Secretary General makes no mention of the fact that this was a RETALIATORY STRIKE after Israel bombed an Iranian Embassy in Syria. Was there even a statement after the Iranian Consulate bombing that killed 13?  Is the UN Secretary General demonstrating BIAS?

The EMERGENCY UN Security Council  

He[António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations] said the emergency session was held upon an urgent request by Israel following what it described in a letter as a direct attack launched by Iran of over 200 unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles towards Israel in clear violation of the United Nations Charter and international law.  In a separate letter, Iran stated that it had carried out a series of military strikes on Israeli military objectives in the exercise of Iran’s inherent right to self-defence as outlined in Article 51 of the Charter, and in response to the Israeli recurring military aggressions, particularly its armed attack on 1 April 2024 against Iranian diplomatic premises in Damascus.

The Secretary-General said that according to the latest reports several missiles reportedly struck within Israeli territory.  One damaged an Israeli military facility in the south of the country.  Overall, a few civilians were injured. 

Wow, the speed when Israel was attacked - compared to lackadaisical attitude when Iran's Consulate was bombed killing 13 is shocking? Note that after the 1st April attack, Iran brought the matter to the UN..

Hence, the question of DISCRIMINATION of the UN, the UN Sec Gen, UN Security Council - are not all UN Member States treated equally?

LANGUAGE - The Media and some UN statements tries to paint an incomplete picture to give the impression that IRAN attacked ISRAEL - when clearly based on facts, it is a RETALIATORY RESPONSE - a weak response at that for the Iranian strike seem to have not killed anyone but just damages a military facility.

What should Iran or any other country do when the UN fails to ACT when some other nation bombed and killed people in their embassy/consulate or their country? Sit quietly and take it...Well, Iran brought the issue to the UN... but how long will the victimized State have to wait for JUSTICE.

The UNITED NATIONS have the power to act speedily - imposing economic sanctions, stopping the flow of arms to the perpetrator State, sending in a UN Peacekeeping Force, even sending a UN armed force against perpetrator State as it did against North Korea before...

So, what is BLOCKING or preventing to act - well, simply put it is the VETO that is held by 5 countries - China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States

When the United Nations was formed 24 October 1945, the Big Five, [now the permanent members with VETO power], made it clear that there would be no United Nations if they were not given the veto.

Francis O. Wilcox, an adviser to the US delegation, described the dramatic negotiations: "At San Francisco, the issue was made crystal clear by the leaders of the Big Five: it was either the Charter with the veto or no Charter at all. Senator Connally [from the US delegation] dramatically tore up a copy of the Charter during one of his speeches and reminded the small states that they would be guilty of that same if they opposed the unanimity principle. 'You may, if you wish,' he said, 'go home from this Conference and say that you have defeated the veto. But what will be your answer when you are asked: "Where is the Charter"?'"[i]

Harry S. Truman, who became President of the United States in April 1945, wrote: "All our experts, civil and military, favored it, and without such a veto no arrangement would have passed the Senate."[ii]



[i] Wilcox, Francis O. (October 1945). "II. The Yalta Voting Formula". The American Political Science Review. 39 (5): 943–956. doi:10.2307/1950035. JSTOR 1950035. S2CID 143510142.

[ii] Truman, Year of Decisions: 1945, p. 207. See also US Department of State: "The United States and the Founding of the United Nations" Archived 23 October 2005 at the Wayback Machine. October 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2012.

This VETO has unfortunately been abused by the said 5 countries - it has been used to CURTAIL the United Nations from acting against not just these 5 VETO holding countries, but also their 'friends' - We all know how the US has used it to prevent UN Action against its friend, Israel.

Not, the VETO can also be used to 'paint a false picture'. Who was responsible for the attack of Israel, that also resulted in 'kidnappings'? Well, Israel, US and 'friends' placed the blame on HAMAS - and insisted even the UN Security Council and other UN decision making to accept this as fact. 

YES, we know that some terrorist group was responsible - so, the UN too initially did not want to lay blame on Hamas, and said that those responsible was 'Palestinian armed groups in Gaza'.. not HAMAS.

On 7 October 2023, Palestinian armed groups in Gaza launched thousands of rockets toward Israel and breached through the perimeter fence of Gaza at multiple locations, entering into Israeli towns and killing and capturing Israeli forces and civilians. The Israeli military declared “a state of war alert,” and began striking targets in the Gaza Strip, including residential buildings and health care facilities. Since then, thousands of people have been killed and more than one million have been displaced, as parts of Gaza have been reduced to rubble. =https://www.un.org/en/situation-in-occupied-palestine-and-israel

Gaza was governed by HAMAS, after it won the last Parliamentary Elections in 2006. Gaza had been governed by HAMAS since then. With the long history of many Israeli's excessive retaliation that result in deaths of Palestinians by reason of alleged bombings by Palestine, it is MOST UNLIKELY that HAMAS would have 'attacked' Israel... The people that bombed, killed and kidnap Israelis must be identified, tried and punished ... Therefore, it is most dangerous to simply believe what Israel, US or any country that quickly lays blame to HAMAS

The Islamic group Hamas has won a huge majority in parliamentary elections, with Palestinian voters rejecting the long-time rule of the Fatah movement.Of the 132 seats in Parliament, Hamas won 76 and Fatah 43, the election commission announced on Thursday.Ahmed Qureia, the Palestinian prime minister, and his cabinet resigned, even before the official results were announced, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, was to ask Hamas to form the next government.- Al Jazeera, 26/1/2006

But, sadly the VETO power was used to lay blame on HAMAS for the October attack...Sadly, media and what was previously considered INDEPENDENT Media also started accepting the US Narrative. We recall the 'weapons of mass destruction' reason used for the military invasion of Iraq - which now has been found to be nothing but LIES.

So, watch how the MEDIA reports on the Iran's retaliatory attack on Israels bombing of its embassy. Or will there be a 'SPIN" painting a picture that Iran attacked Israel...

If any US embassy/facility is bombed - the response is always an immediate military response...they do not wait for a UN Resolution or response.

YES, IRAN should not have retaliated on its own against Israel - but with the FAILURE of the UN to ensure justice be done, what can any victim sovereign nation do..?

With regards to Gaza, Israel has not even complied with the International Court of Justice(ICJ) Order - to immediately stop killing Palestinians, etc 

26th January ICJ, amongst others, orders ISRAEL to stop killing of Palestinians,etc but the killing and other things continues - What should we do with Israel? What will ICJ do? What will UN do? READ the ICJ ORDER of 26/1/2024

Why has the UN not started sending UN Peacekeeping Forces into Gaza? Why has the UN not acted to force Israel back to its original borders, out of all Occupied Territories? Why has the UN been so lame and 'toothless'? Without the VETO power, the UN would have most likely acted strongly not just in Gaza, but also Ukraine, and other countries that demand a stronger response by the global body.

UN must practice DEMOCRACY, and acknowledge the equality of every nation State, and not be dictated or blocked by any of the 5 States that have the VETO power..

Besides the VETO, the Big Countries can use economy and political power to 'control' weaker nations...but that we cannot do anything about, but the ONE thing we can do is to remove the VETO powers - and will make the UN more effective in fulfilling its role.

We need the UN, the global body that can ACT in conflicts between nation states... against member States that did wrong, against member States that violates human rights and commits injustices against people...

We need an INDEPENDENT MEDIA that will simply not be 'dishing out' perspectives of certain nation states as the TRUTH...


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