Iran, 2003

I

would like to express my cordial congratulations to the

President for presiding over this important session of

the General Assembly. I wish also to express my

congratulations to other members of the Bureau on

their election.

Less than 60 years ago, our founding fathers

established the United Nations, with the aspiration to

promote peace and security through cooperation and to

make our world a better place. The creation of this

Organization was in fact the manifestation of the

international community's determination to prevent the

scourge of war, which had inflicted tremendous loss

and damage upon humankind. The United Nations was

also designed to promote economic, social and human

development and assist Member States to eradicate

injustice and poverty.

These objectives and concerns remain as valid as

ever and perhaps are even more relevant today. We

believe it is time to take stock of recent developments

and the utility and record of the United Nations, with a

view to promoting the authority, efficiency and

effectiveness of the United Nations, and recognizing its

central role in addressing the challenges of our time.

The United States waged an unsanctioned war

against Iraq with three expressed objectives: to find

weapons of mass destruction, to fight international

terrorism and to bring democracy to the Iraqi people.

The first is yet to be realized. The second has

backfired. And, as far as the third is concerned, the

collapse of a dictatorship is a highly welcome

development in the region, but, as history has shown,

social change, including the democratization of a

society, can only be brought about from within, and

cannot be imported in tandem with tank columns. In

our view, callous indifference to the negative

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consequences of the invasion of Iraq to the conduct of

international relations and a lack of full understanding

of the post-war situation in Iraq, particularly the social

and the cultural complexities of Iraqi society, have

created both an international predicament and a source

of instability at our borders.

As a neighbouring State, Iran adopted a policy of

self-restraint during the war in Iraq and has continued

to adopt a constructive approach to the current situation

in that country by calling on the occupying Powers to

allow the immediate transfer of Iraqi sovereignty to the

Iraqi people and to withdraw their troops. We welcome

and support the establishment of the Iraqi Governing

Council and the Council of Ministers and call for

granting a central and clear-cut role to the United

Nations in the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty and the

constitutional process. We wish to promote unity and

greater respect for stability and security among various

ethnic and religious groups in Iraq, and encourage and

support the swift setting in motion of a constitutional

and institutional process, with a view to establishing a

democratic and fully representative Government by and

for the people of Iraq. We urge respect for the national

unity, independence and territorial integrity of Iraq and

the provision of relief emergency assistance to the

people of Iraq.

Pending the restoration of sovereignty and

authority to the people of Iraq, the occupying Powers

have the legal responsibility under applicable

international law to provide for the welfare of the

people under occupation, particularly their security. In

this context, the United Nations should be allowed to

play a central role in laying the ground work, on an

urgent basis, in assisting the Iraqi people to establish a

democratic and representative Government and in

supervising the transfer of authority to them. The

international community, in general, and Iraq's

neighbours, in particular, will undoubtedly lend their

full support to the United Nations in this endeavour.

I would like to express once again my

condolences to the Secretary-General and the United

Nations community as a whole for the loss of a brave

servant of the nations, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, and

other United Nations personnel in the terrorist bombing

of the United Nations headquarters in Iraq. The people

and Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran also

sympathize with the people of Iraq over the loss of

another man of peace, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-

Hakim, in a separate terrorist bombing in Iraq.

The violence against and the killing of innocent

Palestinian people by the Israeli Army have become a

daily occurrence, and prospects for a viable peace are

steadily diminishing. The Palestinian people live under

brutal occupation and oppression with no hope for

relief, let alone peace and prosperity. The policy of the

Sharon Government of reoccupying Palestinian cities

and using military force to further terrorize the

Palestinian people has exacerbated the situation and

added to the despair and frustration of ordinary people.

The international community has a major responsibility

to take effective measures in alleviating the suffering

of the Palestinian people.

The recent decision of the Israeli regime to expel

President Arafat from his homeland has outraged the

international community, in general, and the Muslim

world, in particular. I am confident that the free and

civilized world will continue to reject and condemn

such a move by Israel. It is regrettable that the United

States, last week, once again and for the thirty-sixth

time, resorted to the veto to block the adoption of a

draft resolution.

On behalf of the people and the Government of

the Islamic Republic of Iran, I wish to take this

opportunity to express our satisfaction over the steady

improvement of the situation in Afghanistan under the

leadership of President Karzai and his Government. At

the same time, we are concerned about problems such

as the regrouping of remnants of the Taliban and Al

Qaeda, the paucity of international assistance and the

increase in opium poppy cultivation. Unless the

international community is more forthcoming in

assisting the Afghan people and Government, recent

achievements in Afghanistan may be jeopardized.

We have a great stake in the return of full

normality and stability to Afghanistan. In this area, we

have strongly supported the central role of the United

Nations in helping the Afghans to rebuild their own

country, and we believe that the United Nations should

continue to play this role for the foreseeable future.

Terrorism is a global phenomenon that requires a

global response. Fighting terrorism requires a

multifaceted approach that goes well beyond a simple

focus on law and order and also addresses its

underlying causes. A unilateral and one-dimensional

approach, based merely on the use of force, may

neutralize some threats and bring some psychological

comfort to those who seek revenge in response to

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terrorist acts, but few would regard that as a serious

methods of uprooting international terrorism.

Any attempt to link terrorism to a specific

religion or culture is prejudicial, politically motivated

and thus unacceptable. No religion authorizes its

adherents to kill innocent people, whatever the

objective of such acts might be.

The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns terrorism

in all its forms and manifestations. Iran has done more

than its fair share to effectively combat terrorism. In

the heat of the military intervention in Afghanistan and

in the wake of the Taliban collapse, thousands of

individuals were denied entry into Iran; more than

2,300 individuals with false or no travel documents

were deported and hundreds of suspects were arrested,

interrogated and handed over to their countries of

nationality or residence; and lists of such persons were

brought to the attention of the relevant United Nations

officials and bodies. Iran continues to cooperate in

serious and long-term efforts to combat terrorism in a

comprehensive, non-discriminatory and non-selective

manner efforts that do not pick and choose between

good and bad, or useful, terrorists.

Weapons of mass destruction are among the most

potent threats to peace and security at the regional and

global levels. The Chemical Weapons Convention,

Biological Weapons Convention and the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) are the

results of our collective wisdom in our efforts to

eliminate the threat of chemical and biological

weapons and the spread of nuclear weapons. We

believe that more needs to be done. We should do more

to make these basic international instruments universal.

We should also do more to strengthen verification of

their implementation. Finally, we should all work

collectively, as mandated by the International Court of

Justice, to move towards the total elimination of

nuclear weapons.

By adhering to all of these three instruments as an

original party, my country has shown its determination

to work towards the complete eradication of weapons

of mass destruction from the Earth. Our commitment to

international regimes on weapons of mass destruction

lies not merely in our contractual obligations but, more

importantly, in our religious convictions and historical

experience. No country has suffered as acutely as mine

from the tragic scars left from being victims of such

weapons, particularly against the backdrop of a

complacent international environment. We are

convinced that the pursuit of nuclear weapons and

other weapons of mass destruction will not only fail to

provide deterrence or enhance security and influence,

but will only increase vulnerability. Thus, I can state

categorically that for all these reasons, weapons of

mass destruction have no place in the defensive

strategy of my country. We believe the only option is to

work actively towards a global and regional ban on

these weapons, and we have thus spared no effort in

this regard.

However, the efforts to ban, or strengthen the

ban, on weapons of mass destruction should not

provide any excuse for denying States the right to

develop technology for peaceful purposes.

Unfortunately, the political pressure against the Islamic

Republic of Iran to relinquish its inalienable right to

develop peaceful nuclear technology is mounting,

while some nuclear weapon States continue to test and

develop advanced tactical nuclear weapons

programmes. Furthermore, in defiance of international

calls to adhere to the NPT, Israel is continuing, with

impunity, its clandestine development of sophisticated

nuclear weapons and their delivery systems. All NPT

Review and Extension conferences have called for the

suspension and freezing of Israel's tactical weapons

and nuclear programmes, which are the real threats to

international peace and security. They are both

considered to be in contravention with the letter and

spirit of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iran's nuclear programme is solely for peaceful

purposes, specifically for the planned production of

7,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020 for Iran's

economic development. Iran will vigorously pursue its

peaceful nuclear programme and will not give in to

unreasonable, discriminatory and selective demands

that go beyond the requirements of non-proliferation

under existing International Atomic Energy Agency

instruments. At the same time, Iran does not have a

nuclear weapons programme, nor does it intend to

embark on one. Thus, we have nothing to hide, and in

principle have no problem with the Additional Protocol.

We are eager to ensure that this step will be utilized

solely to enhance confidence and remove all doubts

about the peaceful nature of our nuclear programme.

In facing global challenges, no possibility other

than mutual cooperation through the United Nations

will be conducive to lasting and effective solutions.

The democratic process advocated at all levels within

the international community needs also to be reflected

within the United Nations system. The General

Assembly should play a more active role in global

affairs. A more representative and democratic Security

Council would mean a more efficient United Nations

the kind of organization we should all want and

work for.