Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that aggression and warmongering by the US and the Israeli regime have severely damaged regional ecosystems, driving catastrophic environmental destruction.
Addressing the 17th Summit of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 17), held in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on Friday, Pezeshkian emphasized that US and Israeli waged an unprovoked war of aggression against the Iranian nation which produced adverse effects of the ecosystem of the regional countries.
Turning to the Israeli massacre of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, he stressed, “Gaza stands as a stark testament to ecocide, with devastation whose horrific impacts will endure for generations.”
Nations subjected to illegal sanctions and foreign-imposed wars must not be forced to pay the heavy toll of these crises, Pezeshkian warned.
Protecting biodiversity can be an important arena for peace diplomacy, he said, stressing, “Not only war is merely a threat to humans and infrastructure, but also as a direct cause of the destruction of nature.”
War burns forests, destroys wetlands, pollutes soil and water, and displaces animal species, he underlined.
“We believe that biodiversity conservation can serve as a significant arena for "peace diplomacy." In a region grappling with security crises stemming from the illegal and expansionist presence of powers, as well as climate change, water scarcity, and ecosystem degradation, environmental cooperation can build bridges between nations, the bridges that pave the way for peace and security for all, peace with nature, and a future lived in harmony with the natural world.”
