Ghalibaf: Lack of Accountability Emboldens Israel To Intensify Its Crimes

Ghalibaf made the remarks at the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, hosted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in collaboration with the United Nations, in Geneva on Wednesday.

Referring to Israel’s US-backed aggression against Iran in June, which killed about 1,100 Iranians, Ghalibaf said, “In these attacks, our peaceful nuclear facilities, which were regularly monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), were targeted.”

He noted that the IAEA “even refused to condemn this illegal action, thereby legitimizing the attack and putting an end to the non-proliferation policies.”

The Parliament Speaker added that the aggression took place while “Iran was present at the negotiating table and committed to dialogue,” emphasizing that the Islamic Republic delivered a “devastating” response to Israel, forcing the regime to request a ceasefire.

The Israeli regime launched a blatant and unprovoked act of aggression against Iran on June 13, assassinating many high-ranking military commanders and nuclear scientists in addition to civilians.

The war came as Iran and the United States had held five rounds of indirect negotiations, mediated by Oman, over Iran’s nuclear program since April, and were preparing to hold fresh talks in the Omani capital on June 15, which was cancelled following the Israeli aggression.

The US joined Israel's war on Iran and launched attacks on three peaceful nuclear facilities, violating the United Nations Charter and the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

“The Zionist regime’s aggressive act, which was a deliberate violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, was condemned by 120 countries around the world,” Ghalibaf said.

However, Israel’s “few but more powerful” supporters “prevented the international bodies from taking decisive action to punish the criminal Israel.”

Ghalibaf emphasized that the institutions that should safeguard peace have remained silent in the face of aggression and occupation, and structures that should be impartial and independent “have often become tools for the political exploitation of specific powers.”

At the conference, Ghalibaf also held up the pictures of the two-month-old Ryan, the youngest victim of Israel’s 12-day war on Iran, and a Palestinian child from Gaza, as symbols of Israeli crimes.

He noted that Gaza has turned into “a museum of crimes against humanity” and a laboratory for the testing of killing technologies, calling for stopping the crimes of “the Nazis of the 21st century,” amid Israeli strikes in other countries in the region, including Lebanon and Syria.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.