Iran says UN investigation in framework of resolution 2231 of alleged drones in Ukraine illegal

Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, by sending a reasoned letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, as well as the president of the Security Council of this organization, a copy of which was also sent to the facilitator of Resolution 2231 (Ireland), expressed the clear positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the baseless claims and accusations leveled by the troika of the European Union (Germany, England, France) and United States regarding the use of drones belonging to Iran in the war in Ukraine.

The senior diplomat of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United Nations has stated in this letter that it is ironic that the United States and three European countries in their letters accuse Iran of violating a specific clause of the United Nations Security Council resolution, while they themselves continue to grossly violate all legal obligations under the same resolution. A clear example of this breach of commitment is the illegal withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear agreement and the continuation of this breach of commitment in the present as a leverage for bargaining. An action that is considered a clear and flagrant violation of the mandatory rules of international law, the United Nations Charter and Security Council Resolution 2231.

The ambassador and permanent representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran has stressed in this letter: The US and the European Troika have tried to make a fake connection between this resolution and the use of drones in the conflict in Ukraine in order to justify their baseless claims against the Islamic Republic of Iran with spreading false information, undocumented materials, false speculations and misleading, arbitrary and incomplete interpretations of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

The Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations has further pointed to the same style and phrasing of the letters of the troika of Europe and the United States with the letter of the Ukrainian government, and has emphasized that this matter will increase the speculation about a cunning and organized effort to advance the political agenda of the writers of letter. This includes a misleading and arbitrary interpretation of Resolution 2231, which is contrary to the spirit and clear text of the resolution and also weakens the independence, impartiality and professional functioning of the UN Secretariat.

The ambassador and permanent representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran has added that, as he explained in his letter dated 19th October, the restrictions mentioned in paragraph 5 and 6 of Annex B of Resolution 2231 officially ended on 18th October 2020, and since then none of Iran's actions did not include the supply, or transfer of weapons or related items to other countries under the restrictions of Resolution 2231. Therefore, the claim of violation of Paragraph 4 of Annex B of Resolution 2231 is a mistake and a misleading and arbitrary interpretation, which is considered to be in contradiction with the provisions, spirit and text of this paragraph. This paragraph clearly refers to the limitations of items, materials, equipment, goods and technology that could contribute to the development related to nuclear weapons, in which Iran has never produced or supplied these items and has no intention to produce or it is not available.

The senior Iranian diplomat in the United Nations regarding the request of the European troika and the United States to the secretariat to conduct an investigation within the framework of Resolution 2231 to evaluate the type of drones used in the conflict in Ukraine, emphasized that Resolution 2231 did not provide any legal basis for conducting such investigations. In addition, and more importantly, the memorandum dated January 16, 2016 by the President of the Security Council has specified the relevant duties in the implementation of the resolution, especially in relation to the principles mentioned in paragraph 2 and 7 of Annex B of this Resolution 2231.

Iravani added: "Based on this memorandum, tasks such as monitoring the implementation of the resolution, answering the questions of the member states and international organizations regarding the implementation of the resolution, and more importantly, the correct response to the information regarding alleged actions contrary to the resolution should be performed by the Security Council itself".