Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahid Jalalzadeh signed the convention on behalf of Iran in Hanoi.
In a post on his X account, the deputy minister said that Hanoi “witnessed a global determination to confront unilateralism in combating cybercrime,” emphasizing that Iran had played a constructive role over the past four years in drafting the convention as a responsible member of the international community.
In a televised interview, Jalalzadeh recalled that the process dates back several years, when European countries adopted the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, a regional framework that criminalized cyber offenses within Europe. He noted that, since then, a number of other nations, including Iran, had sought to create a broader, globally inclusive framework under the United Nations.
He explained that discussions and analyses of the new convention had taken nearly four years at the UN, with Iran actively participating to ensure that the convention would be effectively guided and produce tangible results.
Jalalzadeh said that around 60 countries, along with the UN secretary-general, attended the signing ceremony in Vietnam. He noted that while the digital revolution and the expansion of the Internet had created new opportunities, they had also brought challenges and threats felt across various sectors, ultimately prompting the need for this convention.
Commenting on the objectives of the agreement, Jalalzadeh stated that it aims to promote and strengthen measures for the prevention and effective combat of cybercrime, enhance international cooperation in this field, and support technical assistance and capacity-building to ensure a global exchange of information and expertise in the fight against cyber threats.