Iran condemns U.S. for vetoing UNSC resolution on Gaza truce

TEHRAN, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Wednesday condemned the United States for repeatedly vetoing UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

During an emergency session of the UNSC held in New York on Tuesday, the United States vetoed the draft resolution on the Gaza ceasefire, the fourth time it has done so since the outbreak of the conflict.

Describing the U.S. move as a "diplomatic catastrophe of the century," the foreign minister said on social media platform X that the repeated veto by the U.S. administration created liability for the White House for Israel's "unceasing genocide in Gaza and war crimes in the West Bank and Palestine."

He called on the international community to hold the United States accountable.

Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani also condemned the U.S. veto of the resolution, according to a statement released on the ministry's website.

He said the U.S. move once again proved to the world that Washington was not part of the solution to the crisis and humanitarian disaster in Gaza, but the most important factor for the continuation of the crisis and its expansion in the region.

The draft resolution proposed by Algeria received support from 13 out of the 15 UNSC members, with the United States vetoing it and Britain abstaining.