TEHRAN – Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani has pointed out the “serious threat” posed by chemical weapons in a statement to the United Nations Security Council. 

“As the main victim of the most systematic use of chemical weapons in modern history, the Islamic Republic of Iran once again condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere, and under any circumstances. We share this view that the use of such inhumane weapons, which pose a serious threat to international peace and security, must not be tolerated,” Iravani said. 

He made the remarks at a UN Security Council meeting on Syria. 

The ambassador added, “The only way to guarantee that chemical weapons are never used again is to destroy and eliminate all chemical weapons on a global scale and to take all necessary measures to prevent the production of such mass destruction weapons. We reiterate our call for the full, effective, and non-discriminatory implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. We believe that politicizing the implementation of the Convention and using the OPCW for political ends endanger both the legitimacy of the Convention and the Organization. This is equally deadly as a chemical weapon.”

He continued, “We emphasize that any investigation into the use of chemical weapons must be impartial, professional, credible, and objective in order to establish the facts and reach evidence-based conclusions, and in doing so it must strictly adhere to the provisions and procedures within the framework of the Convention.”

The Iranian ambassador acknowledged the critical importance of Syria’s efforts to uphold its obligations under the Convention.

“We encourage continued communication and interaction between the OPCW and the Syrian Arab Republic, and in this context, we commend the Syrian Arab Republic for submitting the 106th   monthly report to the OPCW’s Director-General on September 15, 2022, detailing activities on its territory related to the destruction of chemical weapons and their production facilities. In line with its constructive cooperation, the Syrian Arab Republic has also facilitated a visit of the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW to Syria to conduct the ninth inspection tour of the Center for Scientific Studies and Research,” Iravani stated. 

“We hope that the high-level meeting between the Syrian Arab Republic's Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Director-General of the OPCW will take place as soon as possible, according to an agenda agreed upon by the two parties that contributes to resolving the outstanding issues between parties.”

He said, “While the Syrian Arab Republic has met the Convention's requirements and continues to cooperate with the OPCW constructively, handling this file in a political and double-standard manner will only divert discussions from its technical nature and could undermine the Security Council’s credibility and authority. We believe that it is high time for the Council to return discussions on this issue to its own technical track in the OPCW in order to foster a constructive dialogue between Syria and the OPCW to resolve the outstanding issues.”

Iravani concluded, “Furthermore, by focusing on technical aspects rather than political ones, the Organization will be able to carry out its functions in an impartial, professional, credible, and objective manner in order to draw conclusions based on factual evidence.”