Iran Envoy Hails Approval Of Palestine's Observer Status At UN

New York, Dec. 1, IRNA – Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaee lauded the approval of Palestine's observer membership at the UN, and said that it shows that the international community has focused more on the oppression of Palestinians. 'We all saw that before the voting process began and during the speech of Palestinian representative at the UN, how the representatives of member-states constantly applauded him, but when the representative of the Zionist regime began his speech, a kind of silence was prevalent and only few people applauded him,' Khazaee told IRNA in an exclusive interview on Friday. He said he delivered his speech on behalf of both the Islamic Republic of Iran and 120 member-states of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) representing them at the international body. 'I elaborated on my viewpoints on the Zionist regime's aggressions and the necessity for receiving the rights of the Palestinian people,' Khazaee added. The UN General Assembly on Thursday afternoon put to vote a request by the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on his country attaining UN observer status. A total of 137 countries voted in favor of Palestine's non-member observer status despite strong opposition by US, Canada, and Israel. Palestine and Vatican are two countries which have non-member observer status at UN./end