Iran To Seek 2009 Security Council Seat While Ignoring UN Sanctions

By Victor Comras

Word is circulating though the halls of UN headquarters in New York that Iran will actively campaign for a non permanent seat on the Security Council for 2009 or 2010. Perhaps such an Iran candidacy should come as no surprise given Libya’s current Security Council’s tenancy, and the long list of other rogue states that have occupied seats on the Security Council in the past. Yet, this latest move by Iran must really be taken as a “stick-it in your eye” gesture toward the Security Council and the United Nations itself, given Iran’s current outrageous international behavior and its refusal to abide by numerous Security Council resolutions demanding that it suspend its uranium enrichment program.

One can only imagine the absurd imagery and consequences of Iran sitting as a full member of the Security Council and its Sanctions Committee charged with overseeing the implementation of the very sanctions measures against her. If only this candidacy presaged a change of course - a willingness to come into compliance with UN Security Council demands and to truly demonstrate that Iran intends to abide by international non proliferation norms.

Lost somewhere in time is the notion of what was originally envisaged by the founder’s of the United Nations as the criteria that should be used in selecting Non Permanent Security Council Members.

The Charter of the United Nations provides in Article 23:

“The General Assembly shall elect ten other Members of the United Nations to be non-permanent members of the Security Council, due regard being specially paid, in the first instance to the contribution of Members of the United Nations to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the other purposes of the Organization, and also to equitable geographical distribution.”

As Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), aptly pointed out today:

"While the regime in Tehran attempts to garner a seat on the UN Security Council, its security forces clandestinely work to destabilize its neighbors while adopting an openly belligerent stance with U.S. Navy vessels operating legally in the Persian Gulf."

"Intimidation and coercion are hallmarks of the Iranian regime’s international approach, as are deception and obfuscation, as evidenced by this rogue state’s continued defiance of UN Security Council mandates concerning its nuclear program."

"Rewarding such a pariah state with a seat on the Security Council - if it occurs - will only confirm the erosion of credibility and authority of an already battered UN and the urgency of undertaking either wholesale UN reform or developing an alternative to the corrupt UN system."

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