Iran voted against the resolution move to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), calling it “politically motivated”.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly meeting on Thursday, the Islamic Republic’s envoy to the world body Majid Takht-Ravanchi said that in Iran’s opinion, the text of the draft resolution was based on political motivations, which can harm UN’s impartiality.

UN General Assembly voted to suspend Moscow over “gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights” by Russian troops in the invasion of Ukraine.

Iran, China, Cuba, and Syria were among 24 countries opposing the resolution. Among 54 abstentions were Egypt, India, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. Israel and Turkey both voted for the resolution.

Takht-Ravanchi emphasized that the UNHRC’s work must be done in a nonpolitical and non-confrontational manner and membership at the council should not be politicized.

However, he expressed Iran’s deep concerns about the dire humanitarian situation in Ukraine, adding that the Islamic Republic believes in protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.

In early March, Iran abstained in a UN General Assembly resolution deploring the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The only previous example of a country being suspended from the UNHRC was Libya in 2011, after a crackdown by the government of Muammar Gaddafi against protests during the ‘Arab Spring.’