The UN Security Council fractured sharply on Wednesday as several member states warned that the Middle East is on the brink of a broader regional war, sparked by a fierce exchange of blame between the United States, Russia, and China over Iran's regional influence.

During the tense session, U.S. Alternative Representative Jennifer Locetta placed the blame for the region's active conflicts squarely on Tehran. She accused Iran of holding the global economy hostage by attempting to restrict freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while financing armed groups including the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and various militias in Iraq. Locetta also took aim at Moscow and Beijing, criticizing them for vetoing an April draft resolution aimed at securing the shipping strait and asserting that "dialogue without consequences" had failed to curb destabilizing actions, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

Russia and China pushed back forcefully against the American narrative, condemning what they labeled "one-sided" pressure on Iran. Russian UN Envoy Vassily Nebenzia accused outside powers of trying to forcefully redraw the political map of the Middle East, while Chinese Envoy Fu Cong warned against applying international law selectively. Both diplomats, alongside Pakistan's envoy, urged an immediate cooling of hostilities and stressed that achieving lasting peace is impossible without addressing the core of the regional crisis—the realization of an independent Palestinian state.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada