GENEVA, Nov. 14 -- UN Watch welcomed a letter by 11 Arab countries to the UN which accuses Iran of being "a State sponsor of terrorism" throughout the entire Middle East, and of only increasing "aggression in the region and the continuation of support for terrorist groups" since the signing of the nuclear deal. See full text below.
The letter, published on Friday by the UN, was signed by the UN ambassadors of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
The Arab countries expressed alarm that the Iranian constitution "through its political and religious figures, calls for the export of its revolution to other countries."
Specifcially, they accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism spans "from Hizbullah in Lebanon and Syria, to Houthis in Yemen and terrorist groups and cells in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Iraq, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and elsewhere."
The letter accused Iran of a "radical approach" that "undermines security and stability in our region and the Arab world."
Human rights activists said it was important that Middle Eastern actors were speaking out against Iranian terrorism, especially on the eve of the UN's vote on a resolution condemning Iran for widespread human rights abuses.
"Iran likes to dismiss all criticism of its human rights violations and brutality at home and abroad as part of a western plot, but that's hard to sustain when the accusers are all Muslim governments, including recent allies of Iran like Sudan," said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a Geneva-based non-governmental human rights organization
Note verbale dated 27 October 2016 from the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary General
The Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates presents its compliments to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and has the honour to refer to the attached letter addressed to the President of the General Assembly signed by the Permanent Representatives of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of the Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Yemen (see annex).
The Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates would be grateful if the present note verbale and its annex could be circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 8.
Annex to the note verbale dated 27 October 2016 from the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General
18 October 2016
On behalf of our respective Governments, we have the honour to write to you with reference to the right of reply made by a representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the conclusion of the general debate of the seventy-first session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, on 26 September 2016, in which a series of unfounded claims were made. In this regard, we have the honour to convey to you the following:
It is with a deep sense of frustration that we note that the Islamic Republic of Iran, with its expansionist regional policies, flagrant violations of the principle of sovereignty and constant interference in the internal affairs of Arab States, continues to play a negative role in causing tension and instability in our region.
We express concerted alarm at the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which, through its political and religious figures, calls for the export of its revolution to other countries. We stress that the Islamic Republic of Iran is a State sponsor of terrorism in our region, from Hizbullah in Lebanon and Syria, to Houthis in Yemen and terrorist groups and cells in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Iraq, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and elsewhere.
With regard to the military campaign of the coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen referenced by the Iranian representative, we would like to recall that the legitimate Government of Yemen issued a request for assistance in March 2015, including military intervention, to the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and the League of Arab States, to protect Yemen and its people from the continuing aggression of the Iran-backed Houthis. In response to this request, the coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen was formed, under the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for the protection of Yemen and its people and to help Yemen to counter terrorism.
This request was issued in full conformity with international law and the right of self-defence as stipulated in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. The United Nations Security Council was duly informed of this request by a letter dated 24 March 2015 from the Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations, and by identical letters dated 26 March 2015 from the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar (S/2015/217), as noted in the preamble to Security Council resolution 2216 (2015).
Along with the Security Council, the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, we condemn in the strongest possible terms the latest Houthi attack in the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb on 1 October on a vessel chartered by the United Arab Emirates, in clear violation of international law. In this regard, in a press statement on Yemen issued on 4 October 2016, the members of the Security Council stated that they took threats to shipping around Bab al-Mandeb, a strategically important shipping passage, extremely seriously and stressed that the continued exercise of freedom of navigation in and around Bab al-Mandeb Strait in accordance with relevant international law must be upheld.
We strongly condemn the active influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the conflict. The Islamic Republic of Iran has supported the Houthis in Yemen financially, strategically and militarily, by training Houthi fighters and sending shipments of weapons and ammunitions into the country illegally and in flagrant violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions 2216 (2015) and 2231 (2015). Shipments of illicit weapons sent by the Islamic Republic of Iran have been intercepted on multiple occasions by several Member States and the Combined Maritime Forces, as mentioned in a letter dated 14 September 2016 from the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2016/786).
UN Watch is a Geneva-based human rights organization founded in 1993 to monitor UN compliance with the principles of its Charter. It is accredited as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and as an Associate NGO to the UN Department of Public Information (DPI).