Iran (IMNA) - Speaking at a high-level open debate of the UN Security Council in New York on January 26, titled “The Promotion and Strengthening of the Rule of Law in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Reaffirming International Rule of Law: Pathways to Reinvigorating Peace, Justice and Multilateralism”, Saeed Iravani stressed that the UN Charter is binding and cannot be applied selectively by powerful states.
Iravani further denounced a pattern of US behavior that replaces the UN’s legitimate authority with unilateral decisions, openly defies international judicial bodies, and undermines the sovereignty of other nations.
full text of his speech reads as follows:
Thank you, Mr. President.
We welcome this timely open debate because international law and the Charter of the United Nations are not merely under strain—they are under deliberate assault. This erosion is not accidental. It is driven by those who believe power confers exemption from law and that peace should be established through strength and power.
Mr. President,
The Charter of the United Nations was never meant to be optional. It is not a menu from which powerful States may choose what suits them and discard what constrains them.
Through a sustained pattern of unlawful actions, the United States has sought to substitute its unilateral decisions for the legitimate authority of the United Nations. This includes advancing arrangements in Gaza that bypass the functions and powers of the Security Council under misleading labels such as a “Board of Peace” or an “International Stabilization Force”; openly defying the jurisdiction and rulings of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ); imposition of maritime blockade on Venezuela and conducting the unlawful abduction of its President in flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter; issuing persistent threats the use of force and military attack against other sovereign states; threatening occupation or control of foreign territories; and withdrawing from or deliberately undermining specialized UN bodies.
These illegal unilateral actions erode the international rule of law, undermine multilateralism, and gravely endanger international peace and security.
Mr. President,
As we have informed this Council and the Secretary-General on several occasions, in recent weeks, the President of the United States has openly and repeatedly threatened the Islamic Republic of Iran with the use of force and military intervention. These interventionist statements by U.S. officials are neither ambiguous nor misinterpreted. Furthermore, the U.S. President has explicitly incited unrest within my country, called for the takeover of institutions, and promoted violence under the guise of political pressure. The human cost and consequences of these unlawful policies are grave. Between 8 and 10 January, innocent Iranian civilians lost their lives in violence that was fueled and exacerbated by armed and terrorist groups supported directly by the United States and the Israeli regime.
The United States bears full legal and moral responsibility for the foreseeable consequences of its actions, including civilian deaths, injuries, and the destruction of public and private property.
Mr. President,
If the United States can use threats of force, unlawful military action, coercion, and regime-change policies as routine tools without facing any consequences, what remains of the UN Charter? And what remains of this Council’s credibility?
No State—regardless of power—has the right to place itself above the law. When States openly threaten aggression and the use of force, this Council must speak clearly. Violations must be named as violations.
Thank you, Mr. President.
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