New Delhi [India], May 15 : Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi on Friday called for urgent reform of global governance institutions and condemned attacks on civilians and infrastructure in Iran during his address on the second day of the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi.
Speaking at the session titled "Rebuilding the Global Order: The Necessity of Reforming International Governance and Revival of Multilateralism," Araghchi acccused US and Israel calling them as "aggressors" for targeting Iranian civilians, schools and infrastructure during the strikes that began on February 28.
"The military aggression of the aggressors, which began at 9:30 am on Saturday, February 28, did not even give schools a chance to close and students to return to their homes," Araghchi said.
He alleged that following a "terrorist act" against Iran's Supreme Leader and the start of military "aggression", the Minab School was targeted in a second attack before children could evacuate.
He said, "The Iranian government immediately announced a nationwide school closure after the terrorist act against the Supreme Leader and the beginning of the military aggression, but the aggressors did not even give children half an hour to survive and targeted the Minab School with a second attack."
The Iranian minister also said attacks on refineries, petrochemical complexes, bridges, railways, stadiums, cultural sites, energy transmission lines and industrial facilities were attacks on "the backbone of people's daily lives."
"If today we remain silent in the face of the suffering of the Iranian people, in the face of the unjustly shed blood of citizens, in the face of the terror of children in schools in Minab, and in the face of attacks on infrastructure, tomorrow this cycle of violence and instability could spread to any other part of the world," he said.
Araghchi urged governments and international organisations to condemn attacks on civilians and infrastructure and reject what he called "double standards."
"The international community must abandon double standards and show that the life of a child in Minab is as valuable as the life of a child anywhere else in the world," he stated.
Turning to global governance, Araghchi said reforming the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was "not an option, but a necessity for the survival of the United Nations."
"We seek a Council that truly represents all continents and regions of the world, a Council in which power is distributed responsibly and fairly, and not just in the interests of a few abusive and aggressive powers," he said.
Highlighting the role of BRICS, the Iranian foreign minister said the bloc had the potential to become "the backbone of a true multilateralism."
"In BRICS, we must work not to create a confrontational bloc, but to create a strategic balance," he said, adding that economic, financial and technological cooperation among BRICS nations could reduce dependence on "monopolistic structures" and create space for "independence and sustainable development."
"It is time to move from 'crisis management' to 'structure management'. We need an order in which peace, the product of justice and stability, is the result of universal participation," Araghchi said.
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