Israel Aggravating Situation in Syria: Iran UN Envoy

“The ongoing Israeli missile attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructures further complicate the situation in Syria, interrupt humanitarian activities, and disrupt humanitarian access,” Saeed Iravani said in an address to a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation Syria, held in New York on Tuesday.

What follows is the full text of his speech:

Madam President,

We thank Mr. Pederson, the Special Envoy, and Mr. Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General, for their briefings.

Madame. President,

Despite a calm security atmosphere, Syria continues to face serious challenges, the most serious of which are foreign forces occupying parts of the country, Security Council-designated terrorist groups controlling certain areas, and the Israeli regime's ongoing aggressions against Syria in flagrant violation of international law.

In the meantime, the ongoing Israeli missile attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructures further complicate the situation in Syria, interrupt humanitarian activities, and disrupt humanitarian access.

We strongly condemn the Israeli regime for such blatant violations.

Madam President,

We have always stated that the crisis in Syria must be resolved peacefully, in accordance with the UN Charter and international law, as well as with full respect for the independence, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic.

Within this context, we believe that all foreign forces present in Syria illegally must be forced to leave without any preconditions or delays; terrorist groups must not be allowed to continue using millions of civilians as human shields to carry out their heinous activities; and the Israeli regime must be forced to end its acts of aggression against Syria.

The Security Council must live up to its responsibilities and ensure the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.

Madam President,

The humanitarian crisis in Syria remains dire. The Syrian people suffer from profound economic challenges.

The UN estimates that 15.3 million of Syria’s 23.2 million people need humanitarian assistance this year.

Despite the UN efforts and its humanitarian partners to deliver essential aid to those in need, the continuing impact of illegal unilateral sanctions as well as the politicization of humanitarian aid places a disproportionate burden on the Syrian people, including women and children.

Imposing unilateral sanctions against the Syrian people while claiming concern for its humanitarian plight is nothing more than hypocritical. These illegal and disruptive measures must immediately end.

Additionally, humanitarian assistance and reconstruction initiatives in Syria should not be used as tools to exert political pressure on the Syrian government.

We appreciate and recognize the efforts by the Syrian Arab Republic to support and facilitate humanitarian access to all areas of Syria.

Iran welcomes the sovereign decision of the Syrian government to renew the permission granted to the United Nations and its specialized agencies to use the Bab al-Hawa, "Bab al-Salama" and "Al-Ra'i" crossings for another six and three months, respectively.

We emphasize the need for unhindered humanitarian access especially through cross-line and in full coordination with the government of Syria.

Likewise, we emphasize the importance of the early recovery projects which are critical to strengthening Syrians' resilience and allowing displaced people to return home. Unfortunately, these projects are not funded or implemented due to the detrimental effects of UCMs.

We, once again, condemn the robbery of Syrian people's natural resources, in areas occupied by the United States forces.

Madam President,

To ensure a more effective political solution to the Syrian crisis, we continue to emphasize that a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process, facilitated by the United Nations, is the only viable approach to ending the crisis.

We support the resumption of the meetings of the Constitutional Committee as an effective mechanism for advancing the political process.

The continued functioning of this committee is vital with its venue being of lesser importance.

The Iraqi government has shown its willingness to host the upcoming round of meetings in Baghdad, which was positively welcomed by both the Syrian government and the Astana guarantors. We urge all other parties involved to seize this opportunity and prioritize substantive discussions over procedural matters.

Iran, along with its Astana format partners, is committed to working towards long-term and sustainable normalization in and around Syria. This commitment was renewed once more during the recent meeting of the Astana Format which took place on 24-25 January.

We express our support for the continuation of the Syrian-Turkish dialogue as part of this effort.

Iran also supports efforts and cooperation within the Astana format to reveal the fate of missing persons.

It is also of utmost importance to make every possible effort to facilitate the safe and dignified return of Syrian refugees to their homeland and to meet their humanitarian needs.

Lastly, we maintain our contacts with the Syrian government, the UN Special Envoy, and our partners in Astana Format to end the crisis and alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people as soon as possible.

I thank you.