Middle Eastern nations urge UN human rights body to denounce Iran's attacks

In a rare and urgent debate at the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday, Gulf countries called on Iran to immediately cease its strikes on their territory and provide full reparations, citing the devastating impact on civilians across the region.

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The six Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Jordan had convened the session at the UN's top rights body, which zeroed in on Iran's strikes on countries across the Gulf region, in the aftermath of the Middle East war that erupted on February 28.

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The conflict began when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate by striking targets in Israel and Gulf nations, sparking a chain reaction of violence that has yet to subside.

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A draft resolution being considered by the 47-member council condemned Iran's "egregious attacks" in the strongest terms, while also denouncing Tehran's attempts to close the Strait of Hormuz and expressing grave concerns over the Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure.

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The proposed resolution demanded that Iran "immediately and unconditionally cease all unprovoked attacks" against the GCC states and Jordan, and provide "full, effective and prompt reparation" to all victims of its attacks.

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Bahrain told the council that it had endured 26 days of "unprovoked, unjustified aggression" at the hands of Iran, while Jordan urged that the attacks must stop immediately.

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Kuwait cited the targeting of civilian infrastructure, including a strike on its international airport earlier on Wednesday, as "a form of terror waged against civilians", emphasizing the human cost of the conflict.

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Oman, which had hosted talks between US and Iranian negotiators in Geneva just two days before the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran, reaffirmed its commitment to dialogue and diplomacy, while condemning Iran's strikes on the region.

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Ambassador Idris Abdul Rahman Al Khanjari of Oman stated that his country also rejected the US-Israeli war against Iran, characterizing it as "an illegal war" that constitutes "a gross violation of the principles and provisions of international law".

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Saudi ambassador Abdulmohsen Binkhothaila added that Iran's actions were a betrayal of the peace efforts, saying "to target the mediator betrays all efforts aimed at peace", and emphasizing that Iran cannot deny responsibility for its actions.

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The United Arab Emirates reported that it had intercepted over 2,000 Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, with its ambassador Jamal Al Musharakh insisting that his country had never allowed its airspace to be used for attacks against Iran.

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Ambassador Al Musharakh described the situation as "not a mere military escalation", but rather "random behaviour that undermines international peace and security", highlighting the gravity of the crisis.

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Iran's ambassador Ali Bahreini responded fiercely to the draft resolution, accusing Israel of "dragging the entire world towards chaos and peril" and warning Gulf countries that their current allies might turn against them in the future.

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Bahreini argued that airfields around the Gulf were being used as "refuelling points of the fighter jets that every day drop their bombs on the Iranian people", and claimed that responsibility for the attacks lay not only with those who carried them out, but also with those who facilitated and supported them.

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He urged the Gulf countries to unite against Israel, which he characterized as their "common enemy", and cautioned them against targeting Iran, warning that this would be a "historic mistake".

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UN rights chief Volker Turk warned that the strikes around Iran and Israel's nuclear sites were "flirting with unmitigated catastrophe", as the situation continues to escalate.

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The Human Rights Council is set to hold a second urgent debate on Friday, this time focused on a deadly strike on an Iranian school, which was requested by Iran, China, and Cuba.

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The debate will center on the airstrike on a school in the southern city of Minab on February 28, the first day of the war, which killed at least 165 people, mostly children, in a tragedy that has sparked widespread outrage.