OPINION:
The United Nations Charter was signed in June 1945 to save future generations from the scourge of war, uphold international peace, promote human rights and ensure global cooperation.
Yet U.N. efforts to prevent and end the war with Iran have been unsuccessful.
Iran’s killing of Americans and innocent Iranians and its pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles all contributed to the current war with Iran.
For 47 years, Iran’s theocratic rulers have espoused “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” In 1983, a suicide truck bomb destroyed the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people, including 17 Americans. That same year, suicide bombs struck the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 Americans and 58 French paratroopers.
In 1996, a massive truck bomb hit U.S. Air Force housing in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 U.S. service members and injuring hundreds. Iran financed and directed these attacks, working with its proxy Hezbollah.
In 1984, the State Department designated Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.
In 2009, Iran’s Basij paramilitaries killed thousands of Iranians peacefully protesting the rigged election. In 2022, the regime brutally killed Jina Mahsa Amini for improperly wearing her headscarf, and this year, it killed more than 30,000 protesters calling for an end to clerical rule and widespread repression.
In 2003, Iran reportedly ended its nuclear weapons program but continued to enrich uranium, at 20% or 60% purity. It was just weeks away from the 90% purity required for nuclear weapons and considerably above the 3.76% level sufficient for civilian power reactors.
The U.N. Security Council sanctioned Iran for persisting with its enrichment of uranium and its development of ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as for its noncompliance with International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
The U.S. and the European Union imposed separate sanctions on Iran for terrorism and human rights violations.
Immediately after the Feb. 28 start of the most recent war, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate halt to it. He urged the U.S. and Israel to stop their bombing campaign and Iran to stop attacking neighboring countries. Passage of Resolution 2817 also demanded a halt to Iranian threats against maritime trade in the Strait of Hormuz.
On March 11, the Security Council adopted a Bahrain-sponsored resolution condemning Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its neighbors and in the Strait of Hormuz and calling for Tehran to immediately halt its strikes.
The resolution, adopted by a vote of 13-0, with Russia and China abstaining, condemned Iran’s actions in the strait, calling them a threat to international peace and security.
For the past 47 years, Iran has trained and financed its proxies — Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis — to kill Americans while using the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij paramilitaries to kill and imprison its own people.
All the while, Iran has pursued programs for nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. This is the Iran that the international community has been dealing with, and why it is viewed as a pariah state. Indeed, the United Nations has been vocal in condemning and sanctioning Iran.
In October 1965, Pope Paul VI spoke to the U.N. General Assembly, declaring that the Catholic Church opposed war and promoted global peace, emphasizing “never again war.”
It should not be surprising, then, that Pope Leo XIV condemned the war with Iran just this month, urging a diplomatic solution and an end to civilian deaths. He also condemned “all actions that are unjust,” including the Iranian government’s crackdown on protesters.
His emphasis has consistently been on finding a peaceful end to this war.
Understandably, Iran’s efforts to close the Strait of Hormuz and disrupt the free and open transit of tankers carrying about 20% of global daily oil consumption are causing fuel and related prices to skyrocket. This development is affecting the public and has attracted significant media coverage.
What we shouldn’t forget is the sick behavior of the mullahs who, for nearly half a century, have killed Americans and innocent Iranians while pursuing programs for nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. We all want a peaceful end to the war.
We also want some indication that the theocracy ruling Iran will change its egregious behavior.
• The author is a former associate director of national intelligence. All statements of fact, opinion or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the U.S. government. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying U.S. government authentication of information or endorsement of the author’s views.
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