With respect to the provocative statement by the Secretary of State of the United States wherein he openly threatened to starve Iranians, Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations submitted a letter to the UN Secretary General and Security Council in condemnation of the remarks:
In a televised interview on 7 November 2018, the Secretary of State of the United States reiterated the United States extremist policy of maximum pressure as well as imposition of the most severe sanctions on Iranian people, adding that “the Iranian leadership has to make a decision that they want their people to eat."
That statement, accompanied by the persistent wrongful acts of the United States, is an explicit viable threat to use starvation as a means of economic warfare aimed at the collective punishment of a population, thus a gross violation of the basic principles of international law. Given that the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States adversely and seriously affect the access of the people to medicine, pharmaceutical products and a number of other needs that are vital for their life and well-being, such policies and acts constitute a crime against humanity that is among the most serious crimes of international concern.
Moreover, for the reasons elaborated in the letters dated 11 May 2018 (A/72/869–S/2018/453) and 5 November 2018 (A/73/490–S/2018/988) by the Islamic Republic of Iran, the re-introduction and re-imposition of the United States sanctions are in contravention of international law, including international human rights law, resolution 2231(2015) of the Security Council as well as a disobedience to the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice on 3 October 2018 (S/2018/899, annex). They just serve the ill-advised political aspirations of the United States administration against Iran, as was also elaborated in the letters dated 19 June 2017 (S/2017/521), 13 October 2017 (S/2017/862) and 3 January 2018 (S/2018/8) by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
That statement is further a clear indication that, in furthering its bullying policies, the United States knows no limits and recognizes no principles to the extent that, in addition to imposing its unlawful sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, it punishes other nations as well.
Like the past 40 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran will not only survive against all United States animosities, unlawful measures as well as overt and covert plots and plans, but also advance its objectives without sacrificing its sovereignty.
However, the United Nations and its Member States should condemn such outrageous policy statements, resist against such policies that threaten the very foundations of the United Nations and multilateralism, hold the Government of the United States accountable for such irresponsible policies and wrongful acts, and compel it to adhere to purposes and principles of the United Nations as well as the international law.
I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as a document of the Security Council.
MS/PR