US justifies killing Soleimani as self defence at United Nations

The United States has justified its airstrike that killed Iranian General Solomani to the United Nations claiming that its actions were in self-defence. After the airstrike, Iran retaliated by firing missiles at military airbases housing US troops in Iraq. The US has vowed to take additional actions as necessary to protect US personnel deployed in the Middle East.

Regarding the airstrike on US troops in Iraq, US President Donald Trump claimed that no Americans were hurt in the attack. In a letter that was sent to the UN, US Ambassador Kelly Craft has claimed that the US stands ready to engage in serious negotiations with Iran and it has the ultimate goal of preventing further endangerment of international peace and security.

US uses UN Charter 's Article 51

The US used Article 51 of the UN Charter to justify the killing of Solemani, Article 51 states that a country may undertake certain aggressive certain actions in case it is acting in self-defence. Craft also added that the US would undertake further actions in the region to protect US personnel and interests.

Read: House To Vote On Restraining Trump’s Actions Against Iran

Under Article 51 of the UN charter, any action taken in self-defence must be notified by the country in question to the UN Security Council. The US had previously used Article 51 to justify taking action in Syria against Islamic State militants in 2014. The Iranian Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht Ravanchi stated that Iran does not wish for an escalation of hostilities with the US after it took retaliatory measures against US military installations. Ravanchi further added that the operation was precise and thus collateral damage to civilians and civilian assets were kept to a minimum.

US President Donald Trump, on Wednesday, addressed the media after the attacks on Iraqi military bases housing US officials and urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to intervene in the matter. He called for peace and spoke about making a deal with Iran.

Read: Trump Was Eating Ice-cream, Meatloaf, When Pentagon Confirmed Soleimani's Assassination

Trump also made it clear that the US does not need oil and gas from the middle east and that now US is the number one producer of these items. Lastly, he also spoke about working together on shared priorities with Iran and have a better future for all the countries.  

Read: US Lawmakers To Vote To Limit Trump’s War-making Power Against Iran

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