Envoy Refutes Israeli Accusation against Iran’s Satellite Launch
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations dismissed the allegations that the Israeli regime has made against Iran’s launch of a satellite in September, saying the purpose of the baseless claim is to divert attention from the Zionist crimes against Gaza.
In a letter to President of UN Security Council Zhang Jun and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on November 27, Saeed Iravani emphasized that Iran has never taken any activity inconsistent with the Security Council Resolution 2231.
What follows is the full text of the Iranian envoy’s letter:
In the name of God, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful
Excellency,
I am writing to you regarding the letter dated 21 November 2023 from the representative of the Israeli regime addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2023/895), where it claimed that the launch by Iran's Qased Space Launch Vehicle (SLV) on 27 September 2023 of the Noor-3 satellite into orbit was a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015).
The claim in the letter is completely unfounded as Iran has never taken any activity inconsistent with the Security Council Resolution 2231(2015). Iran has made it clear, time and again, that all its activities related to its missile and space programs are fully in compliance with its legitimate rights under international law. Moreover, Iran has consistently maintained that its missile and space programs fall outside of the purview and competence of Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015) and its annexes.
The Israeli regime’s purpose of furthering such a baseless claim is clear, and it is to divert attention from the urgent issue currently demanding the international community's focus: the heinous atrocity crimes committed by this apartheid regime against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Accusing Iran of destabilizing activities in the region appears to be nothing more than a desperate attempt by the Israeli regime to evade accountability for its war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity that were committed and are being committed in occupied Palestine. We urge the international community and, in particular, the United Nations Security Council to hold the Israeli regime accountable for these atrocities.
I should be grateful if you would circulate the present letter as a document of the Security Council.
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
