Iran slams UN suspension of voting rights

By Mohamed Kurusun
TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - Iran on Wednesday criticized the UN’s temporary suspension of its voting rights at the UN General Assembly due to delaying financial contributions to the UN.

This came in a letter sent by the country’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, according to the state news agency IRNA.

Zarif explained that Tehran was unable to pay its arrears due to the US banking sanctions, stressing that suspending the voting rights was “entirely unacceptable and completely unjustified”.

Zarif also said that US President Joe Biden was continuing the economic sanctions imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump and using them as a pressure card on Iran.

“Iran has been forcibly blocked from transferring their own money and resources to buy food and medicine by a permanent member of the United Nations,” Zarif said.

On June 4, the UN temporarily suspended Iran’s voting rights and the Central African Republic due to failure to pay their arrears.

*Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara