The Maldives is experiencing backlash following its remarks at the 44th meeting of the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which denounced solely Iran’s aggression towards Gulf nations while neglecting to mention the actions of Israel or the United States.

While presenting the national statement in Geneva, Permanent Representative Dr. Salma Rasheed expressed the Maldives' concern regarding Iran's assaults on Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Jordan, highlighting that these actions were unsettling the region.

The Maldives also co-sponsored a resolution named “Human Rights Consequences of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Unprovoked Aggressions Against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Jordan.”

Dr. Salma urged the global community to stop conflicts and seek diplomatic resolutions for regional stability. She similarly denounced military actions by Israel and the United States targeting Iran, although these mentions were omitted from the official statement distributed publicly.

The remark has elicited intense responses from both politicians and the public on social media, with detractors contending that it seemed biased.

They observed that the declaration failed to address Israel’s conduct in Gaza, the overall humanitarian conditions in the Middle East, or the involvement of the United States in the conflict.