The Islamic Republic’s permanent representative to the United Nations has sent the Security Council a strongly worded letter responding to recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening Israel’s “enemies” with possible nuclear destruction in the event of aggression.
In its letter, which was also sent to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Iranian mission that Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons was the greatest threat to regional peace and security, and called on the body to “take a strong stand” against the “unbridled actions and nuclear threat posed by Israel.”
Calling on the UN to force Tel Aviv to abide by the UN Charter, the letter called Prime Minister Netanyahu’s comments last month on the Israeli response to aggression by its enemies “a serious threat.”
In late August, during a visit to an Israeli nuclear reactor, Netanyahu made what has been widely interpreted to have been a veiled reference to Tel Aviv’s nuclear arsenal (which Israel officially neither confirms nor denies possessing). “Those who threaten to wipe us out put themselves in a similar danger, and in any event will not achieve their goal,” Netanyahu said. “But our enemies know very well what Israel is capable of doing. They are familiar with our policy. Whoever tries to hurt us – we hurt them,” he added.
Iran’s letter to the UN called on Israel to be bound by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (to which Israel is presently a non-signatory), and called for its nuclear program to be put under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The letter also went into a historical excurse about Israel’s ‘history of aggression’, and reminded the UN that Iran had already suffered from the use of weapons of mass destruction in the form of chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq War.
Israel is currently the only state in the Middle East thought to possess nuclear weapons, and is estimated to have between 80 and 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, deliverable by aircraft, submarine-launched cruise missiles, and the Jericho III intercontinental ballistic missile, which has an estimated range of up to 6,500 km.
Iran is barred from the development of nuclear weapons under the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a landmark 2015 nuclear deal which committed the nation not to pursue a military nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief and the normalization of relations with the world community. In May 2018, President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA, and vowed to reintroduce tough sanctions against Tehran. The move prompted the deal’s other signatories, including Russia, China, and three European powers, to try and salvage the deal.
Responding to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called the statement was “beyond shameless.”