UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) ? Iran on Wednesday denounced a draft U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning an alleged plot to kill Saudi Arabia's envoy to the United States and urging Iran to obey the law.
In a letter to assembly President Nassir al-Nasser, Iran's U.N. ambassador reiterated Tehran's denials of involvement in the affair and said the assembly would lose credibility if it considered what he called unsubstantiated allegations.
Saudi Arabia's U.N. delegation said on Tuesday it was about to hand the assembly the draft, which would have the body say it "deplores the plot to assassinate the ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States of America."
U.S. authorities said last month they had uncovered a plot by two Iranian men linked to Tehran's security agencies to hire a hit man to kill ambassador Adel al-Jubeir. One man, Manssor Arbabsiar, was arrested in September while the other is believed to be in Iran.
The draft resolution does not directly accuse Iran of being responsible for the plot or call for a condemnation of Tehran, but urges Iran "to comply with all of its obligations under international law" by cooperating with inquiries.
Although a text of the draft resolution obtained by Reuters says it is jointly sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the United States, the letter from Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee did not mention Saudi involvement, calling the draft a U.S. document.
"By submitting this draft the sponsor is inviting the General Assembly to consider an unsubstantiated allegation, and as such it would amount to an unprecedented, thus unacceptable move," Khazaee said in the letter made public by his mission.
"If the General Assembly allows the submission and consideration of such draft resolution, this principal organ of the United Nations would run the risk of turning into a venue for settling political scores," he added. "Such an action ... would significantly undermine the role, authority, integrity, and credibility of the General Assembly."
Noting that Tehran had categorically rejected any involvement in the alleged plot, Khazaee charged that the United States had supported acts of terrorism against Iran "in which many Iranians, including ... diplomats" were victims.
The envoy did not detail the acts but said he had in the past presented evidence to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Abdulmohsen Alyas, the Saudi U.N. mission's spokesman, said his delegation hoped for a vote on Friday by the 193-nation assembly on the non-binding resolution.
Iran has expressed outrage over the U.S. plot allegations, saying they threaten stability in the Gulf, where Saudi Arabia and Iran, the biggest regional powers, are fierce rivals and Washington has a huge military presence.
(Reporting by Patrick Worsnip; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
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