ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said that it does not favor the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decision against lifting of Iran sanctions as it risks destabilizing a region that is already mired in multiple crises, Pakistan’s UN envoy said on Friday.
A UNSC resolution aimed at halting the reimposition of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program failed Friday after weeks of last-ditch diplomatic talks appeared to break down days before the annual UN gathering of world leaders.
The resolution put forth by South Korea, the current president of the 15-member council, did not garner the support of the nine countries required to halt the series of sanctions from taking effect at the end of the month, as outlined in Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Only four countries, China, Russia, Pakistan and Algeria, supported the effort, with some using the meeting to blast the European leaders for what they called an unjustified and illegal action against Iran.
“We do not favor any action which risks destabilizing a region that is already mired in multiple crises. This region cannot afford further tensions,” Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, told the council.
