Iran has every right to confront Washington’s “state-sponsored piracy and terrorism,” its UN envoy declared Wednesday, as Tehran accused the United States of illegally seizing two Iranian tankers and stealing millions of barrels of oil on the high seas.
In an urgent letter to the UN Security Council, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the US military’s “pirate-style seizure” of the vessels M/T Majestic and M/T Tifani and the theft of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude is a flagrant violation of international law and an act of aggression.
“The US attorney’s statement clearly confirms that the United States armed forces have interdicted, boarded, and forcibly seized Iran’s commercial vessels on the basis of their bullying attitude,” Iravani wrote, citing a US official who he said had “boasted” of the operation.
He called the seizure “nothing but another clear example of US addiction to lawlessness,” adding that such actions violate Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any state.
“In substance and effect, such actions are identical to state-sponsored piracy and terrorism, carried out under the guise of domestic processes that have no standing under international law,” the letter read.
Iravani stressed that the United States bears full and undeniable international responsibility for the consequences of these “atrocities,” which also threaten maritime safety and escalate regional tensions. He demanded that the Security Council condemn the seizures, order the immediate release of all confiscated vessels and cargo, and prevent any repetition.
The latest incident comes despite former US President Donald Trump’s announcement on April 7 of a two-week pause in American aggression against Iran, a lull Tehran says Washington has ignored.
Tehran has responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz to all traffic except vessels granted permission by Iranian authorities, while categorically ruling out any return to negotiations with the US as long as the blockade remains in force.
Source: Press Tv edited by Al-manar English website