The United Nations’ telecoms agency decided on Friday to condemn, monitor and report on the impact of Iranian attacks on telecommunications infrastructure in four targeted countries in the Middle East.
Since the war in the region began on February 28 with a barrage of US and Israeli strikes on Iran, Tehran has retaliated, attacking infrastructure across the Gulf.
The six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, plus Jordan, demanded action at the UN’s International Telecommunications Union agency.
They submitted a draft resolution on the impact on civilian telecommunications and information and communications technology (ICT) in Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
The ITU council — the agency’s governing body — considered their submission, and adopted the draft resolution “by consensus”, an ITU spokeswoman told AFP.
“Based on this decision, the council has tasked the ITU secretariat with monitoring, assessing, and reporting on the specific impacts of disruptions” in these countries, “as well as the broader implications for regional and global connectivity”, she said.
“ITU remains committed to supporting connectivity everywhere and ensuring the resilience of telecommunications/ICT infrastructure.”
The ITU council meeting, which runs until May 8, also considered a separate proposal for adoption from Iran, on support for “reconstructing its broadcasting and telecommunication/ICT sectors severely damaged by acts of aggression”.
However, no decision was reached on this due to a lack of consensus among council members, according to a diplomatic source.
The Geneva-based ITU was founded in 1865 to manage international telegraph networks but expanded its remit to new technology such as telephones, radio, television, satellites, mobile phones and the internet.
It plays a key role in the rules governing radio frequencies, satellites and 5G.
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