Iran Reaffirms Sovereignty over Three Islands, Rejects UAE, Western Claims at UN

Iran's representative to the UN exercised his right of reply and once again reaffirmed the Islamic Republic's full sovereignty over the three Iranian islands.

The full text of the statement, read before the United Nations General Assembly is as follows:

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

Mr. President,

In response to the distinguished representative of UAE, I must stress that the Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates its full sovereignty over the Iranian Islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf, and rejects categorically any claim to the contrary.

The Islamic Republic of Iran underlines that the measures undertaken in those Islands by the Iranian officials have always been conducted based on the principals of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran always pursued a policy of friendship and good-neighboring with all neighboring countries.

As it was reiterated regularly, the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran over the said Iranian Islands is not negotiable.

I would like to stress that “Persian Gulf” is the only true geographical designation for the body of water lying between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, which has been used since the dawn of history and endorsed by the United Nations system, and must therefore be respected by all.

Also, my delegation rejects the allegations of Germany against Iran. Such claims are part of their disinformation campaign intended to divert attentions away from the crimes of the Israeli regime.

In fact, the Israeli regime is the regional proxy for certain Western countries, as explicitly acknowledged by the German Chancellor, stating that it is “the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us”. Germany has fully supported such a dirty work. Germany is accomplice in the genocide and other crimes of that regime, entailing the international responsibility of Germany.

Moreover, while Germany has openly backed Israel’s aggression against Iranian safeguarded nuclear facilities, and also is in significant non-performance of its obligations under the JCPOA and resolution 2231, it is not in any position to lecture us here.

Contrary to the false claim of the German Foreign Minister, Iran’s nuclear program is, and will remain, entirely peaceful. Since November 2003, every report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has consistently confirmed this peaceful character.

Iran has repeatedly and unequivocally emphasized that nuclear weapons have no place in its defense doctrine. In his statement before the General Assembly, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirmed Iran’s principled opposition to nuclear weapons and underscored the urgent need to uphold the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Iran’s peaceful nuclear program poses no threat to international peace and security. Consequently, we oppose any attempt by the E3 to treat this matter within the Security Council framework. It is unjustified, lacks a legal foundation, and serves no constructive purpose.

On several occasions, including in formal communications to the Security Council and the Secretary-General, the Islamic Republic of Iran has made it abundantly clear that the notification submitted by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (the so-called E3) to trigger the “snapback” mechanism is legally and procedurally defective and therefore null and void.

The E3—Germany included—took this action while themselves refusing to comply with their own binding obligations under the JCPOA and resolution 2231 (2015).

Not only did they deliberately undermine the resolution 2231 by demanding arrangements beyond its scope, but they also went so far as to advocate and justify military action against Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities.

Accordingly, any attempt to revive terminated resolutions is devoid of legal basis and stands politically and morally indefensible. Issues related to Iran’s nuclear program have already been comprehensively addressed and settled within the framework of the JCPOA and resolution 2231.

The Government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran remain determined to exercise their inalienable right to nuclear technology for exclusively peaceful purposes, and to build upon their own scientific progress in advancing various civilian applications of that technology.

At the same time, as the only nation in recent history to have suffered the use of weapons of mass destruction, Iran categorically rejects the development, possession, or use of such inhuman weapons—on both ideological and strategic grounds./tasnim