In a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and President of the UN Security Council Eloy Alfaro de Alba on August 20, Saeed Iravani said the allegations against Iran are devoid of credible, verifiable, and independently corroborated evidence.
What follows is the text of his letter:
Excellency,
I am writing to categorically reject and unequivocally condemn the unfounded, politically motivated allegations made against the Islamic Republic of Iran by the representatives of the United States and the Israeli regime during the Security Council’s open debate on maritime security, held on 11 August 2025 under the agenda item “Maintenance of international peace and security (9977th meeting).” Similarly, the allegation made by the representative of the United States during the Council’s briefing on “the situation in the Middle East” on 12 August 2025 (9978th meeting), claiming that Iran has transferred weapons to Yemen in violation of Security Council resolutions, is entirely unfounded. It is devoid of credible, verifiable, and independently corroborated evidence. In this context, I would like to draw your attention and that of the members of the Security Council to the following points:
1. The Islamic Republic of Iran has complied with its obligations under international law, including the UN Charter, and has consistently upheld the safety and security of navigation. Iran has respected all relevant Security Council resolutions on Yemen and has never engaged in activities inconsistent with those resolutions. Claims that Iran threatens maritime security, whether through alleged support to Ansarallah in Yemen or through the seizure of vessels, are baseless. Such baseless claims are part of a deliberate disinformation campaign designed to deflect attention from the unlawful aggressions and destabilizing conduct of the United States and the Israeli regime in Yemen and across the wider region.
2. Contrary to the claims, the United States and its regional proxy, the Israeli regime, are the principal sources of instability and insecurity in the region and threaten maritime security and the safety of navigation. With the support of the United States, the Israeli regime has on numerous occasions targeted oil tankers and commercial vessels of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Red Sea and the eastern Mediterranean. Such hostile acts have taken the form of placing and detonating explosives in engine rooms, drone strikes, the attachment and detonation of limpet mines on ship hulls, surface and aerial gunfire, as well as cyberattacks. In the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, surface and aerial units of the US and the United Kingdom regularly issue provocative maritime notices, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, with the clear objective of portraying the region as insecure and generating tension and apprehension. The continued presence of extra- regional naval forces in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and their destabilizing conduct, not only fails to contribute to regional security but also poses a threat to maritime security and risks driving the region toward uncontrollable escalation.
3. The United States and the Israeli regime have persistently carried out military attacks and acts of aggression against Yemen’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence, in blatant violation of international law, the UN Charter, and binding Security Council resolutions. These unlawful actions have deliberately and systematically targeted civilian infrastructure, commercial ports, and fuel storage facilities, and energy infrastructure sites, in clear violation of international humanitarian law, inflicting devastating humanitarian consequences, aggravating what is already the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis, and gravely undermining maritime security and stability in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The most recent example is the deliberate targeting and bombardment of the Hezyaz power plant in Sana’a, Yemen, on 17 August 2025, a critical civilian energy facility, carried out by the Israeli regime with the full complicity and support of the United States. This unlawful act constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and clearly amounts to a war crime.
4. On the allegation made by the representative of the United States regarding the MSC Aries vessel, it must be underscored that the vessel was lawfully detained due to its clear violation of maritime regulations and its failure to comply with repeated safety warnings. This was a legitimate enforcement action consistent with international maritime law and necessary for the protection of navigational security. All crew members were released on humanitarian grounds, demonstrating our adherence to international humanitarian principles. The vessel remains under lawful detention pending judicial proceedings arising from its violations. Strict compliance with maritime rules and regulations by all vessels is indispensable to safeguarding maritime safety and security.
5. It is a matter of deep concern that the United States habitually misuses the Security Council as a platform to pursue its political agendas and deflect attention from its own destabilizing and unlawful actions, as well as those of the Israeli regime. With their long record of aggression and unlawful conduct, the United States and the Israeli regime have no standing to lecture Iran on maritime security, distort this Council’s work, or advance double standards. Those who accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran are themselves the chief violators of international law. Their conduct exposes a deliberate attempt to pursue narrow political agendas and to maintain the failed policy of maximum pressure against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Security Council must not allow itself to be misused as a platform for US propaganda, nor serve as a shield for Israel to evade accountability for its grave and ongoing crimes, including war crimes committed in Gaza and throughout the region. Equally, it must not be distracted from addressing the root causes of the current instability and insecurity in the Red Sea. Lasting peace and security will remain unattainable unless these underlying drivers are confronted, first and foremost, Israel’s illegal occupation, its acts of aggression, and its persistent, systematic violations of international law, including international humanitarian law and Security Council resolutions.
I would be grateful if you would circulate the present letter as a document for the Security Council.
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
