UN hands Iran another committee seat in the middle of its war with the U.S., while Canada and Australia vote no

The United Nations General Assembly has reconfirmed Iran to its seat on the Committee for Programme and Coordination, a body that reviews U.N. work on human rights, women's rights and counterterrorism, Fox News reports. Iran got 144 votes.

Canada and Australia broke ranks and voted against it. "The Iranian regime silences dissent at home and fuels instability across the Middle East. We stand with the people of Iran," Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Iran's "human rights violations and destabilizing conduct undermine multilateralism."

The House Foreign Affairs Committee blasted the vote: "The United Nations elected Iran — the world's biggest exporter of terrorism — to the committee responsible for establishing priorities on disarmament, counterterrorism and women's rights. The United Nations is morally bankrupt: no sane person can take it seriously."

Hillel Neuer of UN Watch said Tehran will use the seat as propaganda. "As they're killing their own people, what does the world have to say?" he said. He noted that last year the U.N. passed one resolution on Iran and 15 on Israel.

The 34-member committee is not one of the U.N.'s six main committees, but it reviews the organization's plans and priorities. Members serve three-year terms.