In a formal letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and President of the UN Security Council James Kariuki on February 25, Saeed Iravani categorically rejected allegations made by France and other Security Council members during a briefing on Ukraine.
The envoy emphasized that Iran’s nuclear program is entirely peaceful, fully compliant with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and subject to the most stringent international verification measures ever imposed on a non-nuclear-weapon state.
What follows is the full text of his letter:
In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Excellency,
I categorically and unequivocally reject the baseless and legally unfounded allegations leveled against the peaceful nuclear program of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the representative of France during the Security Council briefing on Ukraine, held on 24 February 2026 under the agenda item "Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine" (10110th meeting). The Islamic Republic of Iran is a responsible State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and its nuclear program has been exclusively for peaceful purposes and subject to the most rigorous and intrusive verification regime ever imposed upon any non-nuclear-weapon State. Iran continues to faithfully honor its obligations under the NPT.
It is both deeply regrettable and profoundly hypocritical that France a State Party to the NPT and a permanent member of the Security Council-chooses to cast doubt upon Iran's peaceful nuclear activities while disregarding its own long-standing record of undermining the integrity of the non-proliferation regime. France has failed to fulfill its binding disarmament obligations under Article VI of the NPT. Moreover, it has played a pivotal role in enabling the Israeli regime's undeclared nuclear weapons program.
To this day, France remains conspicuously silent regarding Israel's nuclear arsenal and has never called for the regime's accession to the NPT. It has likewise failed to condemn the aggressive attacks carried out by the Israeli regime and the United States against Iran's IAEA-safeguarded peaceful nuclear facilities during the twelve days of aggressive war by the Israeli regime against Iran in June 2025. Such conduct constitutes a flagrant example of double standards.
Likewise, the politically motivated allegations advanced by the representative of the United States and certain UN members during the same meeting, claiming that Iran supplied the Russian Federation with hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and related technology for use in Ukraine, are rejected. The principled position of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the conflict in Ukraine remains clear and unchanged. Although no legal restrictions have ever existed on Iran's supply of weapons to either party, the Islamic Republic of Iran, in line with its principled position, has never provided any such weapons.
From the outset, Iran has consistently called for a ceasefire, the end of the conflict, and a peaceful settlement, fully mindful of the grave humanitarian consequences of the ongoing conflict. Accordingly, these allegations constitute nothing more than a deliberate attempt to mislead the Security Council and the international community and to deflect attention from the role of the United States --together with certain Western countries-- in fueling and prolonging the conflict in Ukraine through the continuous supply of sophisticated weaponry to that country, even while professing support for ceasefire initiatives and a political process. Such conduct exposes a manifest contradiction between rhetoric and practice and reflects a broader pattern of disregard for international law and for the Charter of the United Nations.
I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as an official document of the Security Council.
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
MNA/TSN
Your Comment