(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented today on reports that Iranian boats confronted U.S. Navy vessels operating in the Persian Gulf and on news that Iran is seeking to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Statement of Ros-Lehtinen:

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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