Statement by Mr. Hassan Rahimi Majd Second Counselor, Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran Before the Sixth Session of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction New York, 17 November 2025 In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful   Mr. President, At the outset, allow me once again to congratulate you on assuming the presidency of this important session and to express our appreciation for your commitment to inclusiveness, transparency, and consensus—principles that have characterized your presidency since its beginning. Under your able leadership, we are confident that our deliberations will further consolidate the progress achieved in previous sessions and bring us closer to realizing this long-overdue objective. We also extend our gratitude to Mauritania for its effective leadership during the fifth session of the Conference. We would also like to express our sincere appreciation to Jordan for kindly hosting the third meeting of the Working Committee. We further extend our appreciation to the Secretary-General for the insightful statement. The Islamic Republic of Iran attaches the highest importance to the establishment of the Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction. For decades, Iran has consistently and actively supported all initiatives aimed at freeing our region from nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, an initiative originally proposed by Iran in 1974. Our position stems from a firm conviction that the existence of such inhumane weapons anywhere, and particularly in such a volatile region as the Middle East, poses a grave threat to regional and international peace and security, making this Conference’s mandate both urgent and indispensable. Mr. President, The continuing occupation and aggression by the Israeli regime against Palestine and other countries of the region, accompanied by its genocidal war in Gaza over the past two years, have inflicted unprecedented suffering and left a deep wound in the conscience of humanity. All these atrocities are carried out under the protection of the Israeli regime’s nuclear arsenal, an arsenal that emboldens its sense of impunity and aggression. The possession of nuclear weapons by a regime that openly commits war crimes and grave violations of international humanitarian law makes the establishment of a Middle East free of all weapons of mass destruction not only a legal obligation but an urgent moral imperative. The Israeli regime’s impunity in this regard remains the principal obstacle to achieving the goals of this Conference. Mr. President, This year has seen a series of deeply concerning developments with direct implications for the objectives of this Conference, which therefore merit our urgent attention and careful consideration. In June 2025, the Israeli regime, with the avowedly full and active support of the United States, launched unprovoked and premeditated terrorist and military attacks against the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the deliberate targeting of Iran’s IAEA-safeguarded peaceful nuclear facilities. These unlawful acts represent a clear and serious breach of the UN Charter, the fundamental principles of international law, the IAEA Statute, and the NPT, exposing once again the hypocrisy and double standards of those who claim to defend non-proliferation while violating its most basic principles. We wish to express our appreciation to those Members of this Conference who condemned these acts of aggression and expressed their solidarity with Iran in defense of the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter. In this context, the Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that the so-called “snapback” mechanism invoked against Iran is null and void and devoid of any legal standing. Such unlawful measures, pursued in flagrant violation of Security Council resolution 2231 (2015), undermine the authority of the United Nations, the credibility of the Security Council, and the integrity of the disarmament and non-proliferation regime. All related restrictions under the resolution, therefore, terminated on 18 October 2025 in full accordance with its timeline. Iran will continue to exercise its inalienable right to develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under the NPT and the IAEA Statute, a right that must be equally respected and upheld for all States in the region without discrimination or restriction. Equally concerning are the recent statements by the President of the United States announcing instructions to “start testing our nuclear weapons” and boasting that the U.S. possesses “enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times.” Such reckless rhetoric constitutes an explicit threat to use nuclear weapons and a clear declaration of intent to resume nuclear testing. It flagrantly violates Article VI of the NPT, contradicts the object and purpose of the CTBT, and undermines the long-standing global moratorium on testing. Since any resumption of nuclear testing would represent a grave setback to international disarmament and non-proliferation efforts, including the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in our region, these statements warrant the strongest and most urgent condemnation by the international community, including by this session of the Conference. Mr. President, The 1995 Resolution on the Middle East, which was an integral part of the package leading to the indefinite extension of the NPT, remains valid and binding. That resolution calls for the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and for the accession of all regional States to the NPT and the placement of all their nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards. Its persistent non-implementation after nearly three decades, primarily due to the protection extended to the Israeli regime by certain nuclear-weapon States, particularly the United States, is a stark reminder of the double standards that have gravely undermined the credibility of the disarmament and non-proliferation regime. The main obstacle to achieving a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction is clear. The Israeli regime remains the only entity in the region that has not acceded to the NPT and continues to possess a nuclear arsenal outside any international verification regime. Its nuclear capability, coupled with its aggression and occupation, constitutes a permanent threat to regional security. The Israeli regime’s prompt accession to the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon party and the placement of all its facilities under comprehensive IAEA safeguards are essential prerequisites for the success of this process. Mr. President, Iran will continue to engage constructively in this Conference. We stress that it must remain a State-driven, consensus-based, and UN-facilitated process focused squarely on its specific mandate, to negotiate a legally binding treaty establishing a Middle East free of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. We caution against any attempts to divert the Conference from this core objective or to dilute its focus. As a country that has itself been a victim of the use of chemical weapons, the Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms its principled opposition to all weapons of mass destruction and its commitment to their total elimination. The establishment of this Zone is a legal necessity, a moral imperative, and a strategic priority, one that must be built on the principles of universality, equality, and legality that underpin the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime. Let us therefore persevere, with unity and determination, to transform this long-standing aspiration into a binding, verifiable, and enforceable legal instrument that ensures that the Middle East, and ultimately the entire world, is free from the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Thank you, Mr. President.