DID Press: Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, defended Moscow’s abstention in the Security Council vote on a draft resolution submitted by Bahrain regarding Iran’s attacks on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Nebenzia said Russia considered the draft “biased and unbalanced,” as it ignored the root causes of regional tensions and solely blamed Iran.
He noted that the resolution made no reference to what Russia terms U.S. and Israeli provocations against Iran, framing Tehran’s actions as unprovoked aggression. Nebenzia emphasized that Iranian strikes targeted U.S. military installations in neighboring countries, which Tehran regards as legitimate self-defense under the UN Charter.
The Russian diplomat highlighted the role of U.S. bases in Kuwait, Jordan, and Iraq in military operations against Iran, pointing out that these sites support aircraft deployment, aerial refueling, and suppression of Iranian air defenses. He also criticized the resolution for referencing civilian casualties in GCC states while omitting attacks on civilians in Iran, including an incident at a girls’ school in Minab where nearly 200 children were reportedly killed.
Nebenzia said Russia and China proposed amendments urging all parties to cease attacks, condemning assaults on both Iran and Gulf countries, expressing sympathy for Iranian civilians, emphasizing diplomatic conflict resolution, and recalling the right to self-defense under the UN Charter. These proposals were reportedly ignored by the resolution’s sponsors.
He warned that passing such a one-sided resolution could exacerbate regional conflicts, undermine Iran-GCC relations, and potentially be perceived as a green light for further military actions against Iran.