Iran Regains Right to Vote at UN
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations said the country has regained its voting rights in the UN General Assembly after paying its dues in arrears to the UN, lashing out at the US for keeping the sanctions that have frozen Tehran’s foreign assets.
“Illegal US sanctions have not just deprived our people of medicine; they have also prevented Iran from paying our dues in arrears to the UN,” Majid Takht Ravanchi announced on his Twitter account on Friday.
“After more than 6 months of working on it, the UN today announced it has received the funds,” the envoy noted.
“ALL inhumane sanctions must be lifted NOW,” Takht Ravanchi emphasized.
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq announced on Friday that Iran had paid the minimum amount — $16,251,298 — and was able to vote in Friday’s election for five new members of the UN Security Council. He thanked banking and government authorities in various places, including South Korea, for enabling the payment to be made.
Iran lost its voting rights in January and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter circulated June 2 that Tehran had still not paid the minimum and would continue being unable to vote, along with Central African Republic, AP reported.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a letter to Guterres the following day, saying the US’ “unlawful unilateral sanctions” and its “economic warfare” have most importantly prevented Iran from using its own money to buy food and medicine, in addition to not paying due to the UN and some other international organizations.
He wrote that the “US′ unlawful acts of war” had frozen Iran’s ”multi-billion dollars of cash deposits -- and not assets or reserves -- in South Korean, Japanese, Iraqi and other banks.”
