UN fails to pass Russia ceasefire bid
Tehran says 1,300 civilians killed in attacks
The U.N. Security Council failed to adopt a Russian-drafted resolution calling for an immediate halt to hostilities in the Middle East, after the measure fell short of the votes needed to pass, with four votes in favor, two against and nine abstentions.
After the vote, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused countries that opposed or abstained of rejecting a clear call to stop the fighting and settle disputes peacefully.
He said their stated commitment to international law and peace amounted to "empty rhetoric" and argued the Russian text did not conflict with a separate initiative backed by Bahrain and Persian Gulf states. Nebenzia called the outcome "surreal" and a "disgrace."
Mike Waltz, U.N. Security Council president for the month of March and U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Moscow was acting to shield Iran, rejecting what he called Russia's attempt to equate U.S. actions with Iran's conduct in the region. He said Washington would continue efforts to hold Tehran accountable for destabilizing actions.
Iran’s U.N. ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said that U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran had entered their 11th straight day, accusing Washington and its ally of deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure across the country.
Speaking at the United Nations, Iravani said more than 1,300 civilians had been killed and thousands of residential, commercial, medical and educational sites damaged or destroyed since the war began on Feb. 28.
He said strikes hit fuel storage facilities in Tehran, causing severe air pollution and health risks. Strikes also targeted Mehrabad Airport and a desalination plant on Qeshm Island, disrupting water supplies to 30 villages.
Iravani also accused Israel of carrying out a March 8 strike on a hotel in Beirut that killed four Iranian diplomats, calling it a terrorist attack and a war crime.
He urged the U.N. Security Council to condemn the attacks and take action to stop the war.
