Reply of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Israeli Regime
Before the First Committee of the 77th Session of the UNGA
New York, 7 October 2022
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Mr. Chair,
I am compelled to take the floor to reject the allegations made by the representative of the Israeli apartheid regime against my Country.
In fact, the dissemination of false and fabricated accusations against regional countries, particularly the Islamic Republic of Iran, has long been a standard practice of Israel, with the exclusive purpose of concealing this regime’s core crimes under international law, namely, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
Nevertheless, it is quite evident that no amount of disinformation and manufactured crises can cover up the criminal nature, as well as the expansionist and warmongering policies, that this regime has pursued over the past 70 years.
Israel, in flagrant violation of international law and in total disregard for all relevant United Nations resolutions, continues its malicious acts by illegal and illegitimate acts in the occupied territories, as well as by assassinating scientists, by sabotage, and by cyber and kinetic attacks against other countries.
It violates the fundamental rights and dignity of the Palestinian people and other Arabs living under its occupation. In fact, this regime has written and writes a dark chapter in the human history, among others with its relentless attacks on the innocent people of Palestine and repression of anybody who seeks freedom. Only last year, nearly 100 Palestinian youngsters were slaughtered and 200 children incarcerated by the regime. Shirin Abuagheleh and Nidal Aghbaria are merely the most recent journalists assassinated by the armed forces of the regime.
Worse still, under the current challenging circumstances and as the international community focuses on mitigating the severe effects and consequences of COVID-19, the Israeli regime continues to exploit this period to accelerate its illegal settlement activities as well as annexation schemes in order to further entrench its military occupation.
These brutalities will continue until and unless the international community holds the apartheid regime accountable and prosecute all the involved criminals. Talking about human rights by this regime is morally bankrupt, and doing so just exposes its hypocritic nature.
On proliferation of WMDs, the undeniable fact is that the Israeli regime is the only culprit in the Middle East and it continues to defy all international regimes governing weapons of mass destruction by refusing to adhere to the NPT, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention. Further, it continues to seriously hamper the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East proposed by Iran in 1974. There can be no excuse for objecting to or taking any hostile positions on the establishment of such a zone in the Middle East. Indeed, nuclear weapons in the hands of this regime pose the most serious threat to the security of all States in the Middle East and the non-proliferation regime. Nevertheless, it attempts to portray Iran’s exclusively peaceful nuclear program, which is under the most robust verification of the International Atomic Energy Agency, as a challenge to regional stability. This is but a deceitful move to distract attention away from the real danger posed to regional peace and security by the Israeli regime, particularly its nuclear-weapon arsenals as well as its clandestine and un-safeguarded nuclear installations and activities.
I thank you, Mr. Chair!