Nasser Kan'ani, strongly condemned the action of the United States in preventing the Islamic Republic of Iran from hosting the annual meeting of the International Maritime Organization.
"The United States once again showed its coercive and arrogant nature by preventing the annual meeting of the World Maritime Day to be held in Iran," Kan'ani said.
"This is while the above-mentioned event was approved by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London in 2014, and was also approved by the General Assembly of this United Nations-affiliated organization," he added.
According to the Iranian diplomat, the action taken by the US, with the support of the UK, demonstrated that there are no limits to the political exploitation of technical and specialized institutions of the United Nations by this country, even if it leads to a reduction in the international credibility of these organizations.
Kan'ani added that this action faced strong opposition from many council members who voted against or abstained from the proposal, emphasizing that ignoring the organization's previous decisions would undermine its credibility.
Kan'ani stressed that the US government wants to cover up its illegal and unjustified actions by resorting to lies, accusations and false statements.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, as one of the members of IMO, has always emphasized its active and responsible activism in the field of international shipping and acts according to international obligations, he concluded.
Reuters announced on Thursday that the United States has blocked Iran from hosting the annual meeting of the International Maritime Organization in October this year.
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