Statement by

H.E. Mr. Majid Takht Ravanchi

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)”

New York, 24 March 2022

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

Madame. President,

Syria's humanitarian situation remains alarming. The UN estimates that 14.6 million Syrians need humanitarian aid. This represents a 9% increase over 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the country's already fragile humanitarian situation.

Given this dire humanitarian situation, where significant parts of Syria’s civilian infrastructure have been destroyed, the imposition of unilateral coercive measures on the Syrian people has had disastrous consequences on all aspects of their lives and runs counter to certain aspects of Security Council Resolution 2585 relating to early recovery projects, which are critical to strengthening Syrians' resilience and allowing displaced people to return home. These measures have also impacted international and national humanitarian organizations’ efforts in Syria.

These illegal and disruptive measures must immediately end. Claiming to care about the difficult humanitarian situation in Syria while backing unilateral sanctions against the Syrian people is extremely hypocritical.

The Security Council must work diligently to ensure that Resolution 2585 is properly implemented in a balanced and effective manner, particularly in terms of early recovery projects and the lifting of unilateral sanctions.

We, once again, condemn the robbery of Syrian people's natural resources, particularly oil and agricultural products, in areas occupied by foreign forces. This criminal act is an obvious violation of Syrian territorial sovereignty, relevant Security Council resolutions, and the United Nations Charter.

The Syrian crisis cannot be resolved without ending the occupation, and uprooting the terrorist threats.

Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity cannot be jeopardized in the name of fighting terrorism. Therefore, all occupying and uninvited foreign forces, including those of the U.S., must leave the country immediately and without any conditions.

We strongly condemn the Israeli regime's repeated violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Israeli attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructures in Syria on March 7th, 2022 constitute clear violations of international humanitarian law.

We call on the Security Council to hold this regime accountable for such acts of aggression and malice, as well as its blatant threats to use force against other regional countries, endangering regional peace and security.

We support the continuation of inter-Syrian negotiations in Geneva, which are now taking place under the auspices of the Constitutional Committee. In this context, we welcome Mr. Pedersen's continuous efforts to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion.

There is no other alternative to pursuing a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned settlement with UN assistance, free of outside influence or pressure, and without any artificial deadlines.

We maintain our contacts with the Syrian government, the UN Special Envoy, and our partners in Astana Format in order to end the crisis and alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people as soon as possible.

I thank you