Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor on Thursday called upon the international community to condemn the recent terrorist attacks against Israeli diplomats around the world.
In a letter to UN Secretary General UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council (UNSC), Prosor requested that a strong and clear message be transmitted to Iran, who he said, is directly responsible for the actions. Prosor was referring to bomb attacks on diplomatic targets in Georgia and India earlier in the week, as well as explosions in Thailand that Thai Defense officials said were aimed at Israeli targets.
In the letter, Prosor also sharply attacked the UNSC'S conduct. "You should have condemned the terrorist attacks on Israeli diplomats ad they occurred," wrote Prosor. "We expect a sharp, clear condemnation, today, without any delay. The Security Council must take practical steps against Iran, Hezbollah and terrorist infrastructures that collaborate with them across the world."
The move is reminiscent of action Saudi Arabia initiated
in the world body in November after the US uncovered an Iranian plot to kill
Riyadh’s envoy to Washington.
In November, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution by a
vote of 106- 9 deploring the plot to kill the Saudi envoy in Washington, and
calling on Iran to cooperate in bringing those responsible to justice. The
resolution also called on Iran to respects its obligations in protecting
diplomats.
Patrick Clawson, research director at Washington’s Institute
for Near East Policy, told The Jerusalem Post that this resolution provided an
opening for Israel to go to the UN and again get it to discuss Iranian
involvement in these types of activities, and further isolate Iran.
The
Foreign Ministry’s drafting of the letter came shortly after the security
cabinet, holding a regularly scheduled Wednesday meeting, discussed the spate of
bombing attacks, and received a briefing on “preventive measures” taken against
the “Iranian terror attacks.”
According to a statement released after the
meeting, security officials presented the senior ministers with a report of
Iran’s’ “deep involvement” in repeated efforts to attack Israeli targets around
the world.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, urged the world
to unequivocally condemn Tehran for its attacks on Israeli diplomats abroad,
saying that if this phenomenon was not nipped in the bud immediately, it would
spread.
“Iran is the largest exporter of terrorism in the world,”
Netanyahu said at a meeting in the Knesset in honor of visiting Croatian
President Ivo Josipovic.
“Iran’s terrorist activities are currently
evident to everyone,” he said. “Iran is undermining the stability of the world.
It is attacking innocent diplomats around the world. The countries of the world
must condemn these acts and draw a red line against Iranian
aggression.”
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, during a meeting with
Josipovic and his Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, also urged the West to respond
decisively to Iran’s behavior, “because just as we have seen in the past, the
Jews are the convenient first target for crazy dictatorships, but not the
last.”
Liberman said the series of attacks carried out in recent days
against Israel’s embassies in India, Georgia and Thailand were further proof
that Iran is “the most damaging element to world peace.”
Herb Keinon contributed to this report