PHOTO: By CNN.com

Iran's permanent ambassador to the United Nations said that the brutal assassination of Lt. Gen. Soleimani is a clear example of state terrorism and a gross violation of the fundamental principles of international law.

Iran PressAmerica: Speaking at the 2020 Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week, organized by the United Nations Center for Counter-Terrorism, Majid Takht-Ravanchi said that the only way to fight terrorism is to strengthen multilateralism by increasing international cooperation and responding to terrorism.

The Iranian diplomat described unilateral approaches as the most important challenge in dealing with international terrorism, adding: "Unilateral coercive measures prevent access to the necessary tools for a collective response to terrorism and undermine international efforts in this area."

Takht-Ravanchi called the US coercive actions against Iran as structural violence in violation of human rights, the right to development and the right to life of the Iranian people, and a clear example of terrorism and economic terrorism on a larger scale, which deliberately targeted ordinary people and caused many injuries.

Elsewhere, Takht-Ravanchi described the brutal assassination of late Lt. Gen. Soleimani as a clear example of state terrorism and a gross violation of the fundamental principles of international law, which would hold the perpetrators criminally liable.

He also called the brutal repression of the Palestinian people the worst kind of terrorism, which must be condemned by the international community.

In response to the US envoy's accusations against Iran, Takht-Ravanchi said that Iran has been at the forefront of the fight against terrorism in the region against groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda, but the US interventionist policies are the main cause of terrorism in the region and around the world.

"The United States is also a major supporter of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), one of the most notorious terrorist groups, killing more than 12,000 Iranians and large numbers of Iraqis," He stated.

Takht-Ravanchi also blamed the United States for continuing the killing of innocent Yemeni people by supplying deadly weapons for the Saudi-led coalition.

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