Statement by the Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations At the High-level Forum on the Implementation of the Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace (2 September 2025, New York)   In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful   Madam President, I thank you for convening this important and timely high-level forum. Promoting a “Culture of Peace” is indeed among the most important actions that we must take in our current turbulent world. This cannot be fulfilled only through such actions as education or cultural events. We need to take concrete practical actions and set good examples too. When deeds contradict words, the youth, instead of learning, unlearn peace. When the world’s youth are witnessing the United Nations’ extreme failure in preventing one of the most brutal genocides in history, they are in fact discouraged of learning peace. Madam President, The Culture of Peace is rooted mainly in the friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, sovereign equality of States, and refraining from the threat or use of force. As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the UN’s establishment, it is extremely regrettable that its primary purpose -- namely, the maintenance of international peace and security, including the adoption of effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace and the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace – has remained largely unfulfilled. Additionally, multilateralism is under unprecedented pressure and the application of unilateral coercive measures are exponentially on the rise. The worst is that the threat and use of force -- as an unlawful means of pursuing national policy objectives -- are being employed with an alarming frequency. If unchecked, these troubling trends will seriously endanger international peace and security and severely undermine multilateralism. Challenges to peace must be addressed directly by tackling their root causes. If we are to effectively confront the serious challenges facing the world today, multilateralism, founded on justice and the rule of law, must be preserved and promoted. Likewise, all States must, truly and under all conditions, reaffirm and practically respect, the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations. They are the basic principles and foundations for overcoming the chronic crises and the emerging challenges of the world. Madam President, Over the past two years, the world has witnessed the crime of aggression, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities committed by the Israeli terrorist regime. Such acts, including the systematic use of starvation as a method of war are material breach and flagrant violations of the fundamental principles of international law. they undermine the Culture of Peace and ruin the foundations for peace regionally and globally. On 13 June 2025, this regime also launched an act of aggression against my country that has resulted in the martyrdom of 1,100 individuals and the injury of 5,750 others. subsequently, the United States conducted a series of strikes against three of Iran’s peaceful and IAEA-safeguarded nuclear facilities. Such absolutely unlawful attacks were also brazen attacks on culture of peace, multilateralism and international law. These aggressions once again proved that the Israeli regime is truly an existential threat to peace, and the U.S. is actual complicit and major supporter of all aggressions, crimes and other unlawful policies and practices of that regime. Further aggressions have also been committed by the Israeli regime against other States in the region. To prevent the normalization of aggression, all unlawful acts of this regime must be unequivocally rejected and resolutely condemned by the international community. The Islamic Republic of Iran has long been at the forefront of promoting the Culture of Peace, and our ancient civilization has served as a cradle of peace, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence. We have played a pioneering role in promoting the Culture of Peace, one example of which is our initiative called the “Dialogue Among Civilizations”, endorsed by the General Assembly. We will continue to further contribute to the promotion of international peace and security. I thank you.