Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that aggression and warmongering by the US and the Israeli regime have severely damaged regional ecosystems, driving catastrophic environmental destruction.
Addressing the 17th Summit of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 17), held in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on Friday, Pezeshkian emphasized that US and Israeli waged an unprovoked war of aggression against the Iranian nation which produced adverse effects of the ecosystem of the regional countries.
Turning to the Israeli massacre of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, he stressed, “Gaza stands as a stark testament to ecocide, with devastation whose horrific impacts will endure for generations.”
Nations subjected to illegal sanctions and foreign-imposed wars must not be forced to pay the heavy toll of these crises, Pezeshkian warned.
Protecting biodiversity can be an important arena for peace diplomacy, he said, stressing, “Not only war is merely a threat to humans and infrastructure, but also as a direct cause of the destruction of nature.”
War burns forests, destroys wetlands, pollutes soil and water, and displaces animal species, he underlined.
“We believe that biodiversity conservation can serve as a significant arena for “peace diplomacy.” In a region grappling with security crises stemming from the illegal and expansionist presence of powers, as well as climate change, water scarcity, and ecosystem degradation, environmental cooperation can build bridges between nations, the bridges that pave the way for peace and security for all, peace with nature, and a future lived in harmony with the natural world.”
Pezeshkian arrives in Armenia to attend international biodiversity summit
President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, to attend the 17th Summit of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, to attend the 17th Summit of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Pezeshkian arrived on Friday for the summit, which brings together participating heads of state and government.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Thursday that the president’s visit would be brief. He added that Pezeshkian was also scheduled to hold talks and exchange views with some of the participating leaders on the sidelines of the summit.
Explaining the convention’s significance, Baghaei said the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity was established in 1992 and currently has 196 parties. He noted that all countries except the United States are parties to the convention.
Baghaei said that Iran was among the convention’s original signatories and officially became a party to it in 1996. Over the past three decades, he said, Iran has played an important role in developing mechanisms and rules for protecting biodiversity and the environment.
The spokesman also highlighted the environmental damage inflicted on Iran and the wider region during the US and Israeli regime’s military aggression against Iran.
He specifically referred to damage affecting the environment of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
Baghaei emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran would use every opportunity to document and explain the crimes committed against the environment.
