UN General Assembly Condemns Iran for Involvement in Syria

Saudi Resolution Insists Pro-Assad Intervention 'Unhelpful'

In a 115-15 vote with a large number of abstentions, the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee voted today in favor of a Saudi Arabian resolution condemning Iran for its involvement in the Syrian Civil War, insisting that its involvement was “unhelpful” and “unwarranted.”

The resolution didn’t explicitly name Russia, but also criticized Iran and other Assad allies for attacks on “moderate” rebels, accusing them of benefiting ISIS and al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front. The language is assumed to be aimed at Russia despite not mentioning them directly.

The resolution is non-binding and won’t have any impact on the ongoing civil war in Syria, but reflects the Saudi government’s ongoing efforts to prop up “moderate” Islamists as an alternative to the existing Syrian government, which is dominated by Alawites.

In addition to being yet another UN rubber-stamp for a Saudi position, it also doesn’t auger well for ongoing efforts to negotiate a settlement of the Syrian Civil War at Vienna, as the Saudi government is involved in those talks, along with Russia and Iran, and seems to be going out of their way here to antagonize them on the Syria issue, despite the US predicting an imminent breakthrough.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.