Tehran urges UNSC to take action against assassination of Iranian diplomats

Iranian Ambassador to the UN Mohammad Khazayee lashed out at certain states’ double-standard approaches towards terrorism in different countries, and urged the UN Security Council to take action against the recent terrorist attacks on Iranian interests in Yemen, including the Saturday assassination of Iran’s commercial attaché in Sana’a. Khazayee’s remarks came after Iranian diplomat Abolqassem Assadi was gunned down by unknown assailants outside his home in Sana’a on Saturday, the last in a series of attacks on Iranian diplomats and missions abroad. “It is crystal clear that the terrorists responsible for this crime have been influenced by extremism and blind violence, and know no limit to their criminal acts even against the diplomatic missions of other countries, which enjoy political immunity under the international conventions,” Khazayee wrote in separate letters addressed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President of the UN Security Council Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein on Monday. The Iranian envoy also welcomed the UN condemnation of the bomb attacks outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut in November,” and said, “Tehran calls upon the UN Security Council to strongly condemn the assassination of the Iranian diplomat in Yemen.” Khazayee further urged the UN Security Council to obligate all its member-states to help identify the perpetrators of the killing, adopt necessary measures to prevent funding terrorists, and offer full cooperation to punish the assassins and their supporters. On Saturday, Assadi was gunned down by unknown gunmen outside his home in the Yemeni capital. A few hours after Assadi’s assassination on Saturday, Afkham announced that the Iranian diplomat had succumbed to his injuries. Afkham expressed deep regret over the death of the Iranian diplomat, and explained, “A terrorist group attacked an Iranian embassy’s diplomat in a Sana’a street and tried to kidnap him, but due to the resistance shown by the diplomat they have started shooting at him.” Afkham strongly condemned the Saturday terrorist attack on the Iranian diplomat, and said, “Iran is seriously following up the terrorist attack with the concerned Yemeni officials.” Also, in July 2013, unknown assailants abducted the Iranian embassy staff member, Nikbakht, in Safr street in Sana'a.