Tehran has criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' remarks on preventing wars, accusing him of whitewashing the atrocities committed by superpowers, according to infohub.kz.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei commented on Guterres' recent interview with the Financial Times, in which he said that the UN's greatest achievement over eight decades has been "preventing war between superpowers."
Baghaei stressed that such a statement turns Article 2(4) of the UN Charter into a doctrine that "renders the vast majority of UN members insignificant, justifies almost every war, undermines the fundamental principles and purposes of the Charter, and, worse, whitewashes the atrocities committed by so-called superpowers against everyone else."
He added that under this approach, wars and atrocities in Korea, Vietnam, Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Sudan, and Gaza are considered successes. The Iranian diplomat also questioned whether such a message is appropriate for the Secretary-General just months before the end of his term.