The U.N. Needs to Address Iran

      A published report from the U.N. released that a panel of experts has revealed they found evidence to confirm that Iran is violating a U.N. weapons embargo. The missiles that were fired by Houthi rebels from Yemen into Saudi Arabia were made in Iran. A number of groups don't want to hear this new information that has been made official. Leaders in Iran don't want this information out because it shows how Iran is violating an international agreement. Supporters of the Iran nuclear deal don’t want to hear this information because it shows, once again, how Iran cannot be trusted. Members of the U.N. don’t want to hear it because it shows that Iran is breaking Security Council Resolutions. There is obviously pressure on the U.N. to do something, and the U.N. should do something. For Iran not to face repercussions for supplying the missiles to Houthi rebels, they would be further enabled to do whatever they want.  

This report has shed light on a whole host of information on what has been going on in Yemen and more intel on the Houthi rebels. Iran’s making of missiles have further contributed to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Over the course of the past 3 years, Yemen has been in a civil war. Roughly 75 percent of the population needs assistance and the Yemen government hardly exists anymore. Iran has supplied weaponry to a more than awful cause. The Houthi rebels have been using the people of Yemen as human shields and kidnapping children to fight in the war. If the U.N. wants to prevent further conflict in the Middle East, they need to address that Iran is the source of the missiles fired into Saudi Arabia. By the U.N. addressing this problem, it gives the world the opportunity to act and intervene to help the people of Yemen. 

The U.N. can even use what the United States has done as an example to the rest of the world. The United States has declassified evidence from missile attacks in Yemen that were carried out from the missiles that were made in Iran that are in violation of the United Nation’s Resolutions. The U.S. has also put pieces of the missile that was intended to hit  civilian airport, Riyadh, on display in the nation’s capitol. On display, you can see how the logos of Iranian manufacturers are on missile pieces. With this evidence and the report published by the U.N., the U.S. has concluded that the missiles were supplied by the Tehran regime. With the United Nations showing that they are on the same page as the world’s superpower, it may provoke other countries to follow suit. 

When the United Nations speaks out against Iran, it would seem they hold responsibility in stopping Iran. If the U.N. speaks out against Iran, but does nothing after, opposers would say there be no point in doing anything at all. This argument has merit, but, Iran has broken an agreement that they said they would uphold. If Iran is not held accountable it shows bad precedent for other nations and the U.N.’s authority. Iran may also have a resurgence of power that makes them feel like they can do whatever they want. Opposers also say that openly discussing how Iran is providing missiles will make things worse for Yemen. There is a fear that Iran could retaliate even further than the embargo if Iran feels like the rest of the world is against them. Their fear is that this could lead to more chaos in Yemen, chaos that is closer to a war, but this fear is short sighted. If the U.N. doesn’t speak out against Iran, they will continue to make the wrong decisions and it will end up in the same place they are fearful of, if not worse. The United Nation’s speaking out against Iran will provide a pathway for forces to join together to stop Iran from creating and supplying missiles. 

If the U.N. confirms that Iran is the supplier of the missiles, it gives the world a chance to act before more civilians are attacked, inciting a military escalation. Iran’s support of dangerous rebel groups has just increased since the sighing of the nuclear agreement that they are now in violation of. Their weapons have turned up in a wide variety of war zones all across the Middle East. Iran continues to perpetuate violence where there should be peace. Speaking out against Iran gives the chance to hold Iran accountable for their agreement to disengage in conflict. If the United Nations does not speak out against the Iran regime, more innocent lives will be lost and the freedom from war will be unattainable.