The Illusion of International Support and Iran’s Repeated Experience

(Photo: by Vahid Salemi / AP)

By: Seyed Navid Nasirpour Osgoei

This article explores the long-standing and painful illusion of international support experienced by Iran, particularly through the lens of major geopolitical events spanning over four decades. It begins with the Iran–Iraq War of 1980, when Saddam Hussein, backed by Western powers and the Soviet Union, launched a full-scale invasion of Iran. Despite clear acts of aggression—including the use of chemical weapons—the United Nations and its affiliated bodies, such as the Security Council, failed to condemn Iraq or take meaningful action. Instead, their interventions only began when Iran regained the upper hand, and even then, the resolutions were directed at halting Iran’s defensive actions.

This trend of silence and double standards has continued into the present. In June 2025, as Iran prepared for diplomatic talks on its peaceful nuclear programme, Israel launched a surprise aerial assault targeting Iranian military and civilian infrastructure, including nuclear facilities under 24/7 UN-IAEA surveillance. The international community once again failed to respond, and suspicions have arisen regarding intelligence leaks potentially originating from within the IAEA. Despite Iran’s full compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it received no protection or solidarity, while Israel—neither an NPT member nor bound by its regulations—faced no accountability.

This article argues that such repeated experiences have exposed a deep-rooted bias in international institutions, whose mechanisms often serve the interests of powerful nations rather than uphold justice. With the latest U.S. airstrikes reportedly destroying Iran’s nuclear sites, the illusion of international support has reached its breaking point. The author concludes that Iran must adopt a self-reliant national strategy to safeguard its sovereignty, as reliance on international legal frameworks has proven both naïve and ineffective.

Background:

The story begins on 22nd September 1980, when Saddam Hussein’s heavily armed Iraqi military launched a swift, full-scale attack on Iran, with the backing of Western powers and the former Soviet Union. Confident of a quick victory, Saddam even announced plans for a celebratory luncheon in Tehran within a week. But the war he started dragged on for eight brutal years, ending in humiliation as he was forced to accept peace. This article does not aim to recount well-known facts about the Iran–Iraq War. Rather, it reflects the persistent illusion among Iranians that international bodies, such as the United Nations, the UN Security Council, would support them.

In the early stages of the war, Iran’s pleas for international condemnation of Iraq’s aggression were met with silence. Only months later—when the tide turned and Iran began advancing into Iraqi territory—did the UN Security Council act. Yet instead of condemning the aggressor, its resolutions called on Iran to end the war—a war Iran did not start, but was drawn into. Iran’s response was purely defensive, consistent with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which affirms every nation’s right to self-defence.

Even when Saddam resorted to using chemical weapons, supplied by Western supporters, against Iranian soldiers and civilians, resulting in thousands of casualties, Iran’s official complaints and demands for action once again received no response from international bodies. This painful reality became permanently ingrained in the collective memory of the Iranians.

Sadly, history appears to be repeating itself. 37 years after the Iraq-Iran war, Iran is again facing similar circumstances. On Friday, 13th June 2025, at a time when diplomatic discussions between Iranian and the USA officials were being arranged in the Sultanate of Oman regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities on 17th June, the Israeli regime launched an aerial military assault against Iran. The strike resulted in the targeted assassination and killing of several high-ranking Iranian military commanders and innocent civilians; in total of 935 Iranian citizens were martyred.  

Iran’s immediate appeal to the United Nations and the Security Council did not lead to any statements of support or condemnation. Even worse, Western allies of Israel refused to denounce this unlawful and aggressive act. On the contrary, many chose to interpret it positively, tacitly endorsing Israel’s breach of international norms. In this illegal aggression, Israel deliberately targeted both military and civilian infrastructure, including nuclear facilities that are under 24/7 surveillance by UN-IAEA inspectors. The precision of the attacks has raised serious suspicions of possible intelligence leaks, potentially involving the IAEA’s inspectors or its leadership, who possess detailed information about these sensitive sites. This indicates that the targeting of these IAEA-monitored facilities was not incidental, but the result of a premeditated and coordinated operation.

Iran, as a full member of the UN’s IAEA and a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has now been attacked by a state that is neither a member of the NPT nor has it ever agreed to its terms. Yet, despite Iran’s adherence to its international obligations, it has received no protection or solidarity. The majority of Western members within the IAEA have shown no willingness to condemn Israel or support Iran in this clear violation of international norms.

This marks the first time in the history of the United Nations that the nuclear facilities of an NPT member state have been attacked. Yet, the UN has neither taken action nor expressed even a basic gesture of sympathy. This unprecedented silence sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the very foundations upon which the non-proliferation (NPT) regime was built.

Given the current reality—where Iran’s nuclear facilities under international inspection are precisely targeted, and where legal frameworks fail to offer protection—Iran must develop an alternative national strategy to defend its sovereignty and people. The illusion of gaining support from international institutions must come to an end.

In practice, the laws, protocols, and resolutions of international organisations often appear to be crafted not for universal justice, but to serve the strategic interests of a select group of powerful nations. Time and again, these institutions fail to support Iran or any country that does not align with the dominant global powers, revealing a troubling double standard at the heart of the international order. As a reminder, did the international community condemn Israel’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on 1st April 2024? What about the assassination of Iran’s top commander, General Qassem Soleimani, on 3rd January 2020 in Iraq? Or the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, during the Iranian presidential inauguration on 31st July 2024—was that denounced by the international community (UN Security Council, etc)?

At midnight on 22 June 2025, I received a notification from my news app (Al Jazeera News) reporting that the United States had launched an attack on Iran. According to the alert, all nuclear facilities under the supervision of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were targeted and destroyed using bunker-buster bombs. The strikes reportedly occurred in the early hours of the morning.

Following the US-requested ceasefire on the 22nd, Iranian officials report nearly 935 citizens martyred and over 7,000 injured. This tragedy underscores the urgent need for Iran to reassess its defence strategy, prioritising self-reliance over reliance on ineffective international institutions.