Iran demands compensation from Arab states over ‘direct involvement’ in US-Israeli war
Tehran’s UN envoy said Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan allowed their territories to be used for attacks on the Islamic Republic
The Islamic Republic of Iran has demanded financial compensation from five Arab states, charging them with direct involvement and participation in the US-Israeli war.
The demand was made in a letter from Iran’s UN envoy, Amir-Saeed Iravani, to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on 13 April.
The letter said Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, and Jordan “breached their international obligations” by enabling US-Israeli strikes.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has provided the Security Council with documented and evidentiary information regarding not only the use of the territories of the aforesaid States by the aggressors, but also, in some instances, their direct involvement in the commission of unlawful armed attacks targeting civilian objects,” Iravani wrote.
“The aggressors have utilized the territories of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar, the UAE, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for the perpetration of acts of aggression,” he added.
The UN envoy went on to demand that the five Arab countries “cease their internationally wrongful acts of allowing their territories to be used by the aggressors and, in certain instances, engaging in the commission of unlawful armed attacks.”
Publicly, Arab states have denied allowing the use of their airspace or military bases for attacks on Iran.
Yet recent reports have said Gulf states have been giving Washington access. Saudi Arabia has allowed the US to use its King Fahd Air Base, Middle East Eye (MEE) cited sources as saying last month.
A senior Iranian intelligence source told The Cradle in late March that the UAE has “provided some of their own air bases to the US to be used in attacking Iran.”
Since the US-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic was launched in late February, Washington’s bases across the region have been ravaged.
The bases have been so badly damaged that they have been rendered “useless,” according to experts who spoke with MEE.
“We are not seeing a full and accurate reporting of the extent of damage that has been done to US bases in the region,” said Mark Lynch, director of the Project on Middle East Political Science at George Washington University.
“The bases around the region are suffering real damage, and I think it's very unlikely that we're ever going to go back and put our Fifth Fleet back in Bahrain. It's too vulnerable,” he added.
The New York Times (NYT) also reported in late March that US troops were forced to relocate to civilian hotels and office spaces due to the extent of the damage to bases. This prompted Tehran to accuse Washington of using human shields.