WANA (Jan 19) – Russian political analyst and author Nikolai Starikov has said that the United States and other Western countries have violated international law by interfering in the internal affairs of countries such as Iran.

 

In remarks cited by the media, Starikov said that the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western states breach the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on October 24, 1970.

 

He noted that a reading of the declaration clearly shows its relevance to what he described as Western interference in the internal affairs of Iran, Venezuela, Greenland, and Ukraine, adding that such actions are explicitly addressed and prohibited in the document.

 

According to Starikov, the declaration states that no country may use economic, political, or any other measures to coerce another state into subordinating the exercise of its sovereign rights or to obtain advantages from it.

 

He further emphasized that under the declaration, no state should organize, incite, finance, or impose subversive, terrorist, or armed activities aimed at the violent overthrow of another country’s government, nor should any state intervene in the internal conflicts of another state.

 

Over the past weekend, peaceful protests by various professional groups and segments of the Iranian population over economic conditions—triggered by currency fluctuations and which the government had announced it recognized—were accompanied by attacks carried out by terrorist elements in Tehran and other cities.

 

These attacks resulted in damage to relief facilities, public and government buildings, mosques, and medical and cultural centers. Iranian authorities, following the arrest of large numbers of terrorist elements, stated that they possess documented evidence of links between these elements and Israeli and U.S. actors, which will be presented at a later stage.

 

U.S. and Israeli officials have openly acknowledged their support for the unrest in Iran.

Iranian protesters gather in a street during the protests erupt over the collapse of the currency’s value in Tehran, Iran, January 8, 2026. Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency)