Statement by

H.E. Mr. Amir Saeid Iravani

Ambassador and Permanent Representative

of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

Before the United Nations Security Council

On “The situation in the Middle East: (Syria – Chemical)”

New York, 5 January 2023

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

Mr. President,

I congratulate Japan on both being elected as a new member of the Security Council as well as on taking over the Council's presidency this month. I also extend my congratulations to the other newly elected Council members, namely Ecuador, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland.

We acknowledge India, the departing member, for effectively and successfully completing its presidency in December as well.

I would also like to take this occasion to thank the outgoing elected members for their diligent and commendable work over the course of their two-year mandates as Council members.

Mr. President,

Since the previous meeting, there has been no new development.  The report delivered today by the representative of the UN office of disarmament affairs also made no new points about the situation.

Today’s meeting supports once again the idea that, in the absence of progress and development, regular and monthly sessions on this matter are just wasteful of UN resources and security council members' time.

Mr.  President,

Iran supports the resolution of the open issues in its own technical track in the OPCW through dialogue and constructive cooperation between Syria and the OPCW.

To achieve this end, any investigation must be impartial, professional, credible, and objective, and must fully comply with the Convention's requirements and procedures.

We strongly reject all efforts undermining the Convention and the OPCW’s authority and call for the balanced, full, and non-discriminatory implementation of the Convention.

We continue to believe that politicizing the Convention's application and exploiting the OPCW for political reasons only jeopardizes the Organization's and the Convention's credibility.

Mr. President,

We commend the Syrian Arab Republic for its positive engagement with the OPCW and believe that such an engagement merits acknowledgment.

It is also essential to address the Syrian Government's legitimate concerns, including its position on the illegality of the establishment of the "Investigation and Identification Team (IIT), which was given an unlawful mandate."

Syria regularly submitted its monthly reports to the OPCW Director-General, the most recent of which was on 15 December 2022, which included a thorough account of the country's efforts to destroy chemical weapons and their manufacturing facilities.

We hope that the high-level meeting between the Director-General of the OPCW and the Foreign Minister of Syria occurs and paves the path for the parties to settle the unresolved issues.

I thank you, Mr. President,