Iran has been appointed as one of the five vice-presidents of the UN General Assembly from the Asia-Pacific group for the upcoming session of the principal organ of the world body, which will begin next September with the participation of high-ranking officials and dignitaries from various world countries.

UN member states elected Dennis Francis from Trinidad and Tobago as the president of the 78th United Nations General Assembly, who will assume the presidency of the council in mid-September.

The UNGA also unanimously appointed Iran as the rapporteur of the Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Committee of the General Assembly and a member of the board of the committee. 

Other countries elected as Vice Presidents of the 78th UN General Assembly are Congo, Gambia, Morocco, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia (Africa), Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan (Asia-Pacific), Estonia (Eastern Europe), Bolivia and Suriname (Latin America), as well as Iceland and the Netherlands (Western Europe and others).

The developments came as the US mission in New York has been busy lobbying in diplomatic circles over the past few weeks to prevent Iran assuming the positions. Previously, 56 members of the Asia-Pacific group had approved Iran's candidacy for the post.

The election was not welcomed by representatives of the US and the Israeli regime in the assembly as they used the podium to speak against the election and level accusations against Iran.

In response, Iran's representative in the session rejected the allegations, stressing that those remarks are not relevant to the Assembly’s agenda item under discussion. 

As a founding member of the Organization, Tehran has always actively participated in the Assembly, valued it as the main policy-making organ, and ensured that the Organization’s agendas align with the international community’s priorities and needs, the representative said, the UN website reported.

He also voiced his regret that certain Members misuse the organ to pursue their political agendas.

Tehran and certain Western nations have been engaged in a diplomatic row over their meddlesome stance on recent unrest Iran and Tehran's alleged role in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Protests erupted in several cities across Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini who fainted at a police station in mid-September and days later was pronounced dead at a hospital. The demonstrations soon turned violent.

Iranian officials blame Western countries for orchestrating the riots to destabilize the country.

The unrest has claimed the lives of dozens of people and security forces, while also allowing acts of terror and sabotage across the country. Iran's Interior Ministry has confirmed the enemy waged a hybrid war against the country to weaken national solidarity and hinder the country's progress, stressing that some 200 people lost their lives in the riots sparked by separatist and terrorist groups.

The US, the UK and the EU have imposed a slew of sanctions against Iranian individuals and legal entities since the September death in police custody of an Iranian woman. Iran has returned the adversarial measures and meddlesome statements with sanctions against European, American and British officials and institutions.

Kiev and its Western allies have also claimed that Tehran has provided Russia with weapons to be used in the war in Ukraine.

Iranian officials have repeatedly rejected allegations about Tehran's arms sales to Russia to be used in the ongoing war against Ukraine, stressing such accusations are aimed at legitimizing the West's military assistance to Kiev. They reiterated that Tehran will not help either side in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and cautioned that arming Moscow or Kyiv will prolong the conflict between the two neighbors.