In the name of God, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful

No. 1633825                                                                                                   14 June 2023

Excellency,

            I am writing to you regarding the joint letter dated 12 June 2023 from the Permanent Representatives of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council (S/2023/428). In this letter, the representatives of these countries engaged in yet another cynical attempt to spread misinformation about Iran and alleged that the recent unveiling of the Fattah missile by Iran on 6 June 2023 is inconsistent with paragraph 3 of Annex B of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015). I strongly reject this unfounded claim as well as other baseless allegations made against my Country in the aforementioned letter.

            Further to our multiple communications, including letters dated 7 January, 7 July, 19 and 24 October, 6 and 7 December 2022, and 24 May and 2 June 2023 (S/2022/15, S/2022/544, S/2022/776, S/2022/794, S/2022/915, S/2022/923, S/2023/376 and S/2023/404), I would like to reiterate once more Iran’s position as follows:

The Islamic Republic of Iran has reiterated that its missile and space programs are within Iran’s legitimate rights and in full conformity with international law. Further, Iran has consistently and unequivocally stated that its missile and space programs fall outside the purview and competence of Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015) and its annexes.

The authors of the letter repeated their invocation of the non-consensual and non-universally agreed-upon definitions of the Missile Technology Control Regime, which they used to propagate technical disinformation and establish a false connection between paragraph 3 of Annex B of Resolution 2231 (2015) and Iran's missile program. This line of reasoning is fundamentally flawed and based solely on erroneous arguments. Furthermore, the Missile Technology Control Regime is an exclusive “informal political understanding” among only 35 States, and its criteria are not legally binding, even for its members. Accordingly, any attempt to characterize the MTCR and its criteria as an international consensus-based agreement or universally accepted is unethical, deceptive, suspicious, and unacceptable.

Iran strongly and persistently objected to the arbitrary and misleading interpretations of Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Annex B of Resolution 2231 (2015) that certain countries, including the authors of the letter, have employed to promote their own political agendas.

It is evident that these baseless allegations by the authors not only aim to deliberately mislead the international community but also to manipulate the mandate of the United Nations Secretariat to serve their own narrow political interests. It is worth noting that these states conveniently overlook their own non-compliance with Resolution 2231, despite their repeated calls for adherence. Iran views these continued accusations as a cynical ploy by the authors to divert attention from their significant noncompliance with their commitments under Resolution 2231 and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).        

            I would be grateful if you would circulate the present letter as a document of the Security Council.

            Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres

Secretary-General

United Nations, New York

H.E. Ms. Lana Zaki Nusseibeh

President of the Security Council

United Nations, New York