Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Israeli Ambassador to Uganda, Gideon Behar, has blamed Iran for the ongoing war with his country, backed by the United States of America-USA. According to Behar, Iran abused the international community’s peaceful approaches, including channels at the United Nations, and ignored international calls to halt its nuclear weapons programmes
This comes four days after Israel and the USA launched a joint military offense against Iran, killing the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Referring to the current government in Iran as destructive, the envoy says that if they had respected talks with the US Government, the situation would be different, but that Iran used the chance to buy time to develop more weapons. He adds that the people of Iran are happy that the regime will be replaced.
According to Iran, it was free to go ahead with its nuclear enrichment programmes following the expiry of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 on 18 October, which meant formally ending all UN restrictions and removing the country from the Council’s agenda.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, emphasized that as a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Iran would now be bound only by its treaty obligations with “no limits whatsoever” on the scale of its nuclear program beyond those agreements.
The Treaty is the basis of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, which limits the manufacture, use, and transfer of nuclear weapons, subjecting all nuclear development programmes to the monitoring and supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He reiterated Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA strictly under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and recent parliamentary legislation.
But Israel says Iran was bent on developing a nuclear bomb with intentions of using it to destroy Israel, hence the decision to carry out what Ambassador Behar called preemptive strikes on Iran.
He adds that, contrary to views that the US and Israel are violating international conventions, Iran is doing much worse, targeting other peaceful neighbours as well as its own civilians, hence the need to be stopped.
The US/Israeli attack on Iran has had immediate socioeconomic impacts on the other countries too, including disrupting work and travel activities following the missile attacks on neighbouring Gulf countries.
Iran targeted them for their support of the US operations, including hosting military bases. The countries immediately shut down their airspace, making it difficult or impossible for travel to and from them, as almost all airlines suspended flights to the region.
On Israel’s view on the sufferings of the Iranian people and those in other countries, including East Africa, Ambassador Behar said the blame should go to Iran for causing the war. He adds that Iran is prepared to start the war with a budget of USD 1 billion (UGX 3.6 trillion), just to support the regime’s agenda, instead of spending on the welfare of the citizens.
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