Iran and US before the UN: Article 51 of the Security Council Charter and the right to self-defense

(Patria) – The United States informed the United Nations on Wednesday that the killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani last week was carried out in self-defense, and that it will act again in the Middle East 'if necessary' to protect American personnel and interests.

In retaliation for the general's death, Iran fired 16 ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq housing US troops on Wednesday. The US President stated that no American citizens were injured, which reduced the growing fear of US retaliation for the losses, and thus the expansion of the conflict into the Middle Eastern region.

In a letter to the UN, new US Ambassador Kelly Craft stated that the US is 'prepared to engage in serious negotiations with Iran without preconditions, with the aim of preventing further threats to international peace and security or escalation by the Iranian regime'.

Reuters writes that, justifying Soleimani's killing, Craft in the same letter referred to Article 51 of the UN Charter, emphasizing that the US is 'prepared to act again in the region if necessary to protect American personnel and interests'.

The aforementioned Article 51 stipulates that member states 'shall immediately notify' the fifteen-member Security Council if they have taken any measures in the exercise of the right to self-defense. The US invoked this article of the charter when it took action against ISIL in Syria in 2014.

Kelly Craft, the new US Ambassador to the United Nations, who replaced Nikki Haley, also explained in the letter that the US airstrikes on December 29 against Iranian-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq and Syria were 'in response to escalating armed attacks in recent months by the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as by Iran-backed paramilitary forces on US forces and interests in the Middle East'.

The letter also states that the goal was to prevent Iran from carrying out or supporting attacks, as well as to reduce its ability to carry out attacks.

Iran also invoked Article 51 before the UN Security Council on Wednesday. Diplomats say the US letter arrived after Iran's, Reuters writes.

Iran's Ambassador to the UN, Majid Takht Ravanchi, stated in his letter that Tehran 'does not want escalation or war' after exercising its right to self-defense by taking 'a measured and proportionate military response targeting a US air base in Iraq'.

- The operation was precise and targeted military objectives, thus not causing collateral damage to civilians and civilian property in the area, Ravanchi wrote.

He concluded with a 'serious warning against any military adventurism', and emphasized that Iran declares it is 'determined to continue, strongly and in accordance with international law, to defend its people, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity against any aggression'.