BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:00 P.M.) – The UN envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen rejected a new attempt by U.S. Republican senators to recognize Israel’s authority over the Golan Heights.

“Obviously the Security Council is very clear that the Golan is Syrian territory, and the first aspect of [Resolution] 2254 is, of course, the territorial integrity of Syria,” Pedersen told reporters at a Security Council briefing on Syria held on Thursday in New York.

The question came just a day after U.S. Republican senators Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton brought up the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights while discussing the ongoing Iranian ‘threat’ posed in the Middle East.

“The United States has been committed for over 40 years to ensuring Israel’s security from attacks emanating from across the Golan Heights,” the bill’s sponsors said Wednesday.

The Golan Heights region was captured by the Israeli Defense Forces during the Six-Day War of 1967.

A month-long battle for the Golan Heights was fought during the 1973 October War; however, Syria was unable to retain control of this region.