Iravani: Syria has fulfilled its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention

New York (ST) – Iran’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani affirmed that Syria has remained committed to its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, stressing the need to abandon the politicization of this file and the exploitation of the Organization for the Prohib ition of Chemial Weapons (OPCW) to achieve specific goals.

IRNA News Agency quoted Iravani as saying at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the “chemical file” in Syria on Monday: “The Syrian Arab Republic remains committed to its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. In line with this commitment, the Syrian government has continued its constructive cooperation with OPCW. Syria has submitted its monthly reports to the OPCW Director-General.”

He added that Tehran supports constructive dialogue between Syria and the OPCW at the highest level, with a specific time frame to resolve outstanding issues and finally close the file.

Iravani noted that it is disturbing to see these double standards and detrimental practices continue to persist, as evidenced by the politicization of the Convention and the OPCW for short-sighted political gain. Such an approach doesn’t only risk creating divisions among member states but also undermines the credibility and legitimacy of the disarmament machinery.

He stressed that any investigation must be impartial, professional, credible, and objective, and must fully comply with the Convention’s requirements and procedures, noting that continuing to convene monthly meetings on the Syrian chemical file, despite no new developments, as some members repeat previous claims against the Syrian Arab Republic, is not constructive.

He stated that the political approach and using double standards in this file can only jeopardize the process of addressing unresolved issues and will only serve to detract from the technical nature of the discussions at hand.

Najla Khoury