Iran (IMNA) – Addressing the UN General Assembly on Thursday over the issue of veto power, Darzi warned that the United States and its allies have repeatedly exploited the Council’s procedures and powers to pursue short-sighted political agendas.
He described a US draft resolution against Iran as a politically motivated, legally baseless and hypocritical attempt to misuse the Security Council to revive the “Panel of Experts” of the illegal Committee 1737, whose operations had concluded under Resolution 2231.
The full text of statement by Ambassador Darzi reads as follows:
Statement by
H.E. Mr. Gholamhossein Darzi
Ambassador and Charge de affairs
of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
Before the UNGA’s Veto debate
New York, 1 October 2026
Thank you, Mr. President,
The Security Council must uphold the UN Charter and international law and reject any politicization or manipulation of its procedures.
Yet, the United States and its allies have repeatedly abused the Council’s procedures and authority to advance narrow political agendas.
The U.S. draft resolution was a politically motivated, legally unfounded, and cynical attempt to abuse the Security Council to revive the Panel of Experts of the illegitimate 1737 committee, which was terminated under resolution 2231.
The vetoes by China and Russia were principled and necessary acts that defended the UN Charter, international law, and the integrity and authority of this Council against its abuse.
We express our deep appreciation to China and Russia for their consistent and principled positions, and to Somalia and Pakistan for their responsible abstentions.
Against this backdrop, I wish to make the following points.
First. Iran’s position is clear, consistent, and firmly on the record, including through its official communications to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, both individually and jointly with China and Russia.
Resolution 2231 expired on 18 October 2025. As of that date, all its provisions ceased to have effect.
The Security Council concluded its consideration of the Iranian nuclear issue under that resolution, and the relevant agenda item, “Non-proliferation,” was removed.
The three European countries, the so-called E3, failed to fulfil their obligations under the JCPOA and resolution 2231.
They had no legal standing to invoke the so-called “snapback” mechanism.
The Security Council reached no agreement on the validity or legal consequences of the E3’s alleged invocation.
The Council’s failure to act in September 2025 cannot make an invalid or unlawful procedure valid.
Second. The root causes of the current situation are clear: the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018, the E3’s significant non-compliance with their commitments, and the subsequent U.S. and Israeli military aggression against Iran, including attacks on Iran’s peaceful, safeguarded nuclear facilities.
While Iran pursued diplomacy in good faith, the United States chose aggression.
The U.S. and Israeli regime attacks violated the UN Charter, international law, the IAEA Statute, and relevant resolutions, and flagrantly undermined the fundamental principle that safeguarded nuclear facilities must never be targeted.
Such attacks—and threats to repeat them by the US officials—have also undermined the credibility and confidence in the safeguards system and the entire non-proliferation regime.
Third. The repeated claim that Iran’s nuclear programme is being diverted to military objectives is a false narrative and a big lie first concocted by the Israeli regime in 2003 and repeatedly parroted by the United States and certain European countries ever since.
No IAEA report has confirmed such a fabricated claim.
A repeated lie does not make it true.
Iran has been a responsible NPT Party since 1970 and subject to extensive IAEA monitoring for nearly 25 years.
Meanwhile, the terrorist and genocidal regime of Israel possesses nuclear weapons in the region.
This rogue regime remains outside the NPT and refuses comprehensive IAEA safeguards and monitoring over its nuclear facilities.
Yet Iran faces political pressure, while Israel continues to receive extensive support.
This is a glaring display of double standards and hypocrisy, as demonstrated by the Western and European States at today’s meeting.
As our President, Dr. Pezeshkian stated before this podium:
“The atomic bomb is in Israel, but the inspectors are in Iran! Israel kills, yet Iran is sanctioned! That is the tragedy.”
Fourth. The credibility of the IAEA rests on its technical independence, objectivity, and impartiality.
Any departure from these principles undermines the integrity of the safeguards system.
The non-consensus resolution adopted by its Board of Governors on 9 September was politically driven and disregarded material facts and the fundamental change in circumstances caused by successive U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities.
Any claim of non-compliance cannot be divorced from the legal consequences of the unlawful use of force against safeguarded facilities.
Iran therefore maintains that the resolution lacks a valid legal, factual, and technical basis, and that any consequential report to the Security Council is likewise without legal basis.
Fifth. We categorically reject the baseless allegations and irrelevant assertions made by certain members against my country.
In particular, the United States has no legal, political, or moral standing to lecture or accuse Iran or to concern itself with non-proliferation while itself flagrantly violating the very principles it claims to defend.
The United States and the Israeli regime are responsible for two unlawful and unwarranted wars of aggression against Iran and must be held accountable for the grave violations and war crimes committed against the Iranian people.
And finally, Mr. President,
Some subsequent speakers may once again repeat the same baseless allegations against my country. I hereby categorically reject them as unfounded, misleading, and legally untenable.
In particular, if such allegations come from the representative of the rogue regime of Israel, they deserve no credence or response.
Over the past three years, this rogue regime has committed the four core international crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. Its Prime Minister is subject to an ICC arrest warrant.
Accordingly, a regime with such a documented record of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, aggression, occupation, and terrorism is in no position to lecture anyone on international law.
The Security Council and General Assembly must never be turned into a forum where the aggressor seeks to punish the victim, distort the facts, and manufacture a false legal justification for its unlawful acts.
Thank you.
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