Israeli violations against Syria pose ‘direct threat’ to regional security: Iran

The Iranian ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations has warned that Israel’s occupation of Syrian territory and acts of aggression against the Arab country endanger peace and security in West Asia.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Syria on Thursday, Amir Saeid Iravani said the Israeli regime has, over the past year, intensified its unlawful use of force, expanded its military footprint, and sought to consolidate its occupation of Syrian land.

“Israel’s actions are neither defensive nor incidental; they are part of a deliberate strategy to entrench occupation, fragment Syria, and weaken its national cohesion by exploiting ethnic and sectarian differences and promoting separatist agendas,” he added. “Such conduct constitutes a direct threat to regional peace and security.”

Iravani also condemned last month’s Israeli attack on the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, which killed 13 people and injured 25 others, as a grave war crime under international law.

The criminal assault and the local resistance to Israeli attacks, he said, underscore the "destabilizing consequences of prolonged occupation and repeated acts of aggression."

13 Syrians killed, 25 injured in Israeli aggression on Damascus countryside

At least 13 Syrian people have been killed and more than two dozen others injured in Israeli strikes on the countryside of the capital Damascus.

The Iranian envoy further called on the Security Council to take concrete measures to compel the occupying regime to respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“Continued inaction, selective silence, or the political shielding of Israel by a permanent member of this Council serves only to normalize and legitimize its (Israeli) occupation and acts of aggression and renders the Council’s resolutions ineffective and unenforceable,” he said, referring to the US support for Israeli occupation and violations of international law. 

After the collapse of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024, Israel has launched frequent aerial assaults across Syria and ground incursions in the southern part of the country.

Israel has also set up numerous checkpoints in Syria and abducted its citizens. The usurping regime has further expanded control over the occupied Golan Heights, taking over a demilitarized buffer zone in violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.

Additionally, in his remarks, the Iranian diplomat raised alarm at the actions of armed groups as well as arbitrary violence against civilians and violations of minority rights.

He also underlined the urgent need for restoring full state authority and upholding the rule of law in Syria amid sectarian violence in coastal regions and Suweida Province.

"The continued operation of armed groups outside the control of the Syrian authorities—marked by arbitrary violence against civilians and violations of minority rights—remains deeply alarming and poses a serious threat to peace, stability, and national cohesion," he said. 

Sweida violence reignites as Druze forces clash with HTS militants

Intense fighting has erupted in Syria’s southern province of Sweida between members of a Druze group and armed elements affiliated with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies, leaving several individuals wounded, report say.

Meanwhile, he warned that the resurgence of terrorism remains a grave and immediate threat to Syria and beyond.

Iran, he emphasized, welcomes the return of more than one million Syrian refugees and nearly two million internally displaced persons to their homes, along with the easing of certain sanctions against the country.

Moreover, Iravani said Tehran considers Syria’s stability and territorial integrity essential to regional peace.  

Iran believes that “addressing Syria’s challenges requires, first and foremost, an immediate end to Israel’s aggression and occupation; effective and principled counter-terrorism efforts; and continued efforts by the Syrian authorities to protect minority rights and advance a genuinely inclusive political process,” he noted.  

The Islamic Republic supports a sovereign, stable, and secure Syria and the country’s reintegration into the international community, said the ambassador. 

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir