Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi held separate phone calls on Thursday night with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Nurlan Yermekbayev, discussing the recent unrest in Iran and accusing the United States and Israel of interference,
China Daily reports.
According to statements from the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Araghchi said peaceful protests over economic demands had turned violent after the entry of "trained terrorists." He asserted Iran would defend its sovereignty against what he called "Israeli and US-backed terrorism."
Araghchi accused Israel of having a "direct role in arming and organizing terrorists" and criticized US officials for "meddlesome" statements that he said encouraged violence to pave the way for foreign intervention. He listed attacks on security forces, civilians, ambulances, and mosques during the unrest, describing them as "Islamic State-style" actions.
He urged the UN and Security Council to condemn the violence and US "illegal interventions," while affirming Iran's commitment to protecting citizens' rights to peaceful assembly and national security.
Guterres emphasized respecting fundamental human rights by all governments as well as the UN Charter's principles, especially regarding the non-use of force or threat of force, and rejected interference in other states' internal affairs, according to the statements.
