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)”

New York, 25 October 2022

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

Mr. President,

I thank the briefers for their insightful briefings.

The Syrian people are still suffering. The humanitarian situation remains difficult, causing a significant impact on the Syrian people. In many areas, more needs to be done to alleviate their suffering.

Providing humanitarian aid to those in need is critical, and ensuring safe, quick, and unhindered access to aid for those in need throughout Syria must be a priority in this situation.

Preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria is also crucial. It must be accomplished as soon as possible. This can be done by ending foreign aggression against Syria as well as the country's occupation, dealing with terrorist threats, and lifting the cruel and illegal sanctions imposed on the Syrian people.

We support the Syrian government's full cooperation with the United Nations and humanitarian organizations involved in delivering aid in Syria, and in this context,  we applaud the Syrian Government's efforts to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground, including by providing assistance to the UN to enhance the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need, and to implement early recovery projects mandated by the resolution 2642.

Moreover, the ongoing efforts to effectively implement resolution 2642 must be accelerated and focused on the early recovery projects essential for people, such as electricity, water, sanitation, health, education, and shelter.

We urge all stakeholders and donors to support the full implementation of the resolution, stop politicizing humanitarian and development efforts, and remove obstacles in their way, particularly by refraining from imposing unilateral coercive measures.

We regard the first session of the informal interactive dialogue (IID) that was held on 26 September, as a starting and significant step to review and follow up on the implementation of resolution 2642. However, we believe that politicizing such a meeting will only undermine the resolution's goal and its implementation.

 We hope that the next meeting of the IID will be a real interactive dialogue, contributing to serious discussion about identifying the obstacles and difficulties facing the implementation of the resolution, and how to avoid them, before the mandate of this resolution expires early next year.

Mr. President,

The only way to improve the situation in Syria is a political solution and that is through a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political process facilitated by UN efforts. To that end, we support convening the next meeting of the Constitutional Committee, as the committee's ongoing work is critical to reaching a political solution.

Iran supports the constructive engagement of the parties with the Special Envoy for the Political Process to effectively settle differences over the Constitutional Committee meeting. In this regard, we welcome the Special Envoy's recent visit to Damascus, particularly his meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister on 17 October.

We maintain our contact with the Syrian government, the UN Special Envoy, and our Astana Format partners in order to facilitate the next Committee meeting as soon as possible, and we support the Special Envoy's efforts in this regard.

Mr. President,

The free movement of terrorist groups within Syrian territory where foreign forces are illegally present endangers Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as regional peace and security.

As has been stated repeatedly, the fight against terrorism must not be used to violate Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We emphasize the need to end the illegal presence of foreign forces in parts of Syria, which has created ideal conditions for terrorist activity.

The Israeli regime's aggression against Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity continues unabated, despite repeated requests from the Arab Republic of Syria for the Security Council to clearly condemn it.

The Security Council's silence has emboldened the Israeli regime to carry out its aggression and crimes more openly and broadly, most particularly the systematic and intentional targeting of civilians and vital infrastructure in Syria, which is a flagrant violation of international law, including international humanitarian law.

Preserving the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of UN member states is a cornerstone of the UN Charter, on which the international legal order is built. The Security Council must stop using a double standard and condemn Israeli aggression unequivocally, holding this lawless regime accountable for such a crime that jeopardizes regional peace and security.

I thank you, Mr. President.