Members of the United Nations Security Council will debate the legality of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani’s killing on January 9.
Soleimani died in a US drone attack in Baghdad on January 3.
That incident kicked off a series of retaliatory moves between the United States and Iran, and this week, the US said it would not give Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif a visa to travel to the United Nations, where he would have presented Iran’s case on Soleimani.
Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey reports from the UN in New York, where she spoke to legal scholars before the briefing.
Iran, also called Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. Its central location in Eurasia and proximity to the Strait of Hormuz give it significant geostrategic importance. Tehran is the capital and largest city.
Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BC. The Iranian Revolution established the current Islamic Republic in 1979.
Iran’s political system combines elements of a presidential democracy and an Islamic theocracy. Iran is a founding member of the UN, ECO, OIC, and OPEC. It is a major regional and middle power and has large reserves of fossil fuels — including the world’s largest natural gas supply and the third largest proven oil reserves.
The country’s rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Historically a multi-ethnic country, Iran remains a pluralistic society comprising numerous ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups, the largest being Persians, Azeris, Kurds, Mazandaranis and Lurs.
