US Pontification About Regime Change Against UN Charter

In a letter to the UN on Sunday, Iran criticized as violation of UN Charter the regime change policy that Washington is pursing against Iran, as recently admitted by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

"This statement is a brazenly interventionist and runs counter to every norm and principle of international law, as well as the letter and spirit of UN Charter, and constitutes an unacceptable behavior in international relations," Iran's UN envoy Gholamali Khoshroo said in the letter to Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Khoshroo was referring to remarks by Tillerson during a hearing before the House Foreign Relations Committee a week ago.

Responding to a lawmaker's question about the US administration's Iran policy, Tillerson said, "The US policy toward Iran is ... to work toward support of those elements inside of Iran that would lead to a peaceful transition of that government. Those elements are there, certainly as we know."

***Flagrant Breach

Khoshroo noted that the US policy position is a "flagrant" breach of the 1981 Algiers Accords and other treaties to which Washington is a signatory, according to the text of the letter carried by Tasnim News Agency.

The Algiers Accords explicitly commits the United States "not to intervene, directly or indirectly, politically or militarily, in Iran's internal affairs."

While campaigning for last year's election, US President Donald Trump vowed to take a hard line against the ruling establishment in Tehran.

He has demanded a review of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was negotiated under his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama.

Trump has railed against the international agreement as "the worst deal ever negotiated" but has stopped short of tearing it up.

Tillerson's statement came weeks after Trump's maiden trip to Saudi Arabia, Iran's regional rival, where the controversial Republican called for a united front against what he characterized as the Islamic Republic's growing clout in the region.

Remarks by the top US diplomat have sparked a strong reaction from officials in Tehran.

Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the US policy is doomed to failure and advised its policymakers to learn from the past.

"The Islamic establishment has faced various plots since its inception but the ill-wishers of the Iranian nation have not succeeded to do a damn," he said on Sunday.

"Even when the Islamic establishment was frail and a budding sapling, they were unable to harm it, let alone now that this establishment has turned into a mighty tree."

The Leader described the new occupants in the White House as "inexperienced recruits" and stressed, "These inexperienced individuals do not know the Iranian nation and officials yet, but when they receive a slap in the face, only then will they realize what law and order means."

***Swiss Envoy Summoned  

There are no diplomatic ties between Iran and the US for almost four decades. The Swiss Embassy has been handling the US consular affairs in Tehran.

Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned a Swiss envoy on Monday to protest against Tillerson's remarks, Fars News Agency reported.

"The director general for the Americas at the Foreign Ministry Mohammad Keshavarzzadeh called the chargé d'affaires of Switzerland, which represents US interests in Iran, to the ministry to present an official protest note over the remarks in the meeting of the US House of Representatives," the ministry's spokesperson, Bahram Qasemi, said.