United States: The US airstrikes on targets in Syria and Iraq have drawn criticism from China and Russia. The two nations charged that during a late-night UN Security Council meeting, Washington had increased the possibility of regional escalation. Moscow further claimed that the forthcoming presidential election in November had an impact on the US decision to launch the attacks.
Russia had requested the council meeting after the US launched numerous strikes against targets in Iraq and Syria that were aligned with Iran. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been the subject of intense debate at the UNSC for the past two years. Three soldiers were killed in a drone strike that occurred at a US base in Jordan prior to the attacks.
Vassily Nebenzia, the UN ambassador for Moscow, claimed that the strikes were an attempt by the US to “flex its muscles.” At the UNSC, he asserted that it was further fueled by a desire to shape the country’s political climate and support the administration of President Joe Biden’s “disastrous” reputation.
The attacks, which killed several dozen people, including civilians, demonstrate Washington’s complete disregard for international law, Nebenzia added. He also accused the US of seeking to draw Middle Eastern powers, including Iran, into a regional conflict.
Iran’s ambassador, Saeid Iravani, claimed that the US attacks were illegal under international law and that they were a “desperate attempt” to divert attention from Israel’s war on Gaza, which the US supports and which has resulted in the deaths of over 27,000 Palestinians.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran, which has supported an “axis of resistance” of like-minded political and armed groups against US influence in the region for decades, was reportedly the target of Washington’s strikes in Iraq and Syria.
Tehran claims that the forces it supports in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq run autonomously and that it was not involved in the attack on the US base in northern Jordan.
The Houthi movement, which is aligned with Iran, has been disrupting international shipping routes in Yemen, and the US and the UK have been attacking it relentlessly with the aim of putting an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
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