NEW YORK CITY(RAHNUMA): Bahrain’s UN envoy has accused Iran of using diplomatic agreements to “manage crises and gain time” while attacking Gulf states.
Jamal Al-Rowaiei was speaking in the Security Council on Friday as it reviews the latest report on implementation of Resolution 2231, an endorsement of the JCPOA in 2015.
The meeting, held under the non-proliferation agenda item, was requested by Bahrain and the Council’s five European members — Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia and the UK. It addressed the secretary-general’s 21st report on the implementation of the resolution.
Al-Rowaiei said the region has, since Feb. 28, witnessed one of the most dangerous waves of escalation in its modern history as a result of what he described as Iran’s brutal, unjustified attacks against Gulf Cooperation Council states and Jordan, using ballistic missiles and drones to target civilian objects, energy facilities and vital infrastructure.
He added that Iran, by closing the Strait of Hormuz to international navigation, created an unprecedented reality for the global economy and trade, energy, and food supplies.
The Bahraini envoy said diplomatic efforts on Iran’s nuclear program will fail unless reflected in Tehran’s regional conduct, adding that the problem has never been the absence of agreements but rather Iran’s failure to implement them.
His remarks came amid a resumption of Iranian attacks against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, with the envoy accusing Tehran of violating the Islamabad Memorandum, signed on June 17.
Al-Rowaiei said that Iran had likewise failed to honor commitments made under Resolution 2817, adopted on March 11, and which called on Tehran to halt attacks against regional states.
“This reinforces the impression that for Iran, diplomacy is not a path for resolving disputes, but rather a means of managing crises and gaining time, while its positions and aggressions on the ground are expressed through ballistic missiles, drones and the support, financing, training and arming of Iran’s proxies,” he added.
He said diplomatic progress would be unsustainable without full and transparent compliance with international obligations and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, highlighting the secretary-general’s report that warned of continuing challenges around verification, monitoring and loss of continuity of knowledge regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
Restoring confidence extends beyond the nuclear file to Iran’s broader regional conduct, including attacks on maritime passages and support for armed proxies, which Al-Rowaiei said constitutes a single pattern undermining security and confidence in diplomacy.
He called on the Security Council to ensure full implementation of its resolutions, including 2231, and warned against allowing Council texts and international obligations to go unenforced.
“The Council should not allow for its resolutions or international obligations to become mere texts without implementation,” he said, calling this essential to preserving the Council’s credibility and promoting peace and stability.
