Iran Wrote to the UN Regarding Netanyahu's Maritime Threat

Two weeks after the Israeli Prime Minister spoke of the "important role" of his country's navy in countering "oil smuggling by Iran," Iran's representation at the United Nations responded by sending a letter to the Security Council. According to the official news agency IRNA, the Islamic Republic's representation warned that Israel should "avoid any action against Iran" and emphasized that "Iran, in accordance with its international obligations, will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter." Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, had accused Iran of "bypassing oil sanctions through the sea" in a speech to members of his navy on March 6, stating that the Israeli navy has a "more important role" in preventing this. In its letter, Iran's representation at the UN stated that Netanyahu's remarks constitute "an obvious threat to the use of force and are contrary to the goals of the United Nations and a clear violation of Article 2 of the UN Charter, which prohibits any threat or use of force." The letter also added that the Israeli Prime Minister's statements are "against free international trade and transportation and should be strongly condemned and prevented." According to IRNA, Isaac Al Habib, head of Iran's representation at the UN, requested that this letter be registered as a Security Council document. Following the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in May of this year, senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urged all countries to impose sanctions on Iranian oil "to the extent that Iran's oil exports reach zero." Some experts have previously claimed that Iran circumvents oil sanctions by transferring oil from ship to ship in the heart of the seas, transporting oil with unflagged tankers, and moving at sea with radar turned off. In this context, on Wednesday, March 20, Reuters reported that "at least two tankers in recent months have sent Iranian oil to ports in Asia with fake documents." The news agency states that the related documents indicate that these shipments are "Iraqi oil," but three Iraqi oil sources and also "Prakash Vakaikil," a manager of shipping services in the United Arab Emirates, told Reuters that these documents are fake. Despite Israeli air force attacks on Iranian forces and targets related to the Islamic Republic in Syria over the past few years, Netanyahu's recent statements about maritime "countermeasures" are new. Israel's naval capabilities include missile-equipped vessels and several submarines, which are mainly limited to the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Before the publication of the Islamic Republic's complaint letter to Netanyahu's remarks at the UN, Amir Hatami, Iran's Minister of Defense, also stated last week that "the Islamic Republic has the necessary capability to deal with this issue and will respond firmly if it occurs." Denial of the hacking of Israeli officials' mobile phones by Iran On Sunday night, March 17, Israeli Channel 12 reported that the mobile phone and computer of Ehud Barak, a former Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, had been "hacked and the content sold to Iran." The report states that Iran was not the hacker itself, but those who hacked Barak's mobile phone and computer sold the content to Iran. This television network had also reported a week earlier that the mobile phone of Benny Gantz, the former Chief of Staff and one of the two main candidates for Prime Minister in the elections on April 8, had been "hacked by Iran." Mr. Gantz and the Blue and White coalition he leads have been in a fierce dispute with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the media coverage of this news. Bahram Qasemi, spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, today, Wednesday, rejected these reports and accused Israel of "daily deflection and lies." According to the IRNA news agency, he said that Israel and "U.S. officials... are trying to pursue their specific goals in this already defeated psychological war by fabricating various unrelated statements to create a psychological atmosphere against our country." In recent days, a Saudi website named "Independent" wrote that Iran had also hacked the mobile phone of Sara and Yair, the wife and son of Benjamin Netanyahu, "to be able to eavesdrop on Mr. Netanyahu's conversations." However, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the Prime Minister's Office of Israel announced that after contacting Israeli security officials, it became clear that this news was incorrect.