In a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres and President of the UN Security Council Jamal Fares Alrowaiei on April 14, Saeed Iravani criticized a statement made by the US representative, asserting that it misrepresented a United Nations report.

What follows is the text of the letter:

In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Excellencies,

I am writing to you regarding the statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of the United States during the 10130th meeting of the Security Council, held on 7 April 2026, under the agenda item entitled "The situation in the Middle East", at which a vote was taken on a draft resolution. In his statement (S/PV.10130), the representative of the United States made an unsubstantiated and misleading reference to the report of the Secretary General (S/2019/373), in a cynical attempt to attribute to the Islamic Republic of Iran conduct that is neither reflected in, nor supported by, that report. He asserted that the Secretary General had "affirmed" that the Islamic Republic of Iran hides military hardware in hospitals, schools and civilian neighborhoods and uses civilians for propaganda purposes.

The report in question is a thematic report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, global in scope. There is no reference-explicit or implicit to the Islamic Republic of Iran in the context alleged. The statement made by the United States, therefore, constitutes a clear misrepresentation of an official United Nations document.

Such irresponsible conduct, particularly on the part of a representative of a permanent member of the Security Council, raises serious legal and institutional concerns. Under Article 2(2) of the Charter of the United Nations, all Members are obliged to fulfil their obligations in good faith. This principle requires Member States to act honestly and in good faith in the performance of their obligations under the Charter, and to refrain from deception, misrepresentation or any abuse of United Nations processes. It necessarily extends to their participation in the deliberations of the Security Council, where accuracy, candor and full respect for the integrity of United Nations documentation are indispensable. The deliberate distortion of the content of a report of the Secretary General for political purposes is incompatible with this obligation and undermines the good-faith conduct required of Member States.

The Islamic Republic of Iran emphasizes that any attempt to invoke the authority of the Secretary General in order to lend credibility to such claims constitutes a serious misuse of United Nations mechanisms for political purposes. The Islamic Republic of Iran further underscores that the credibility of the Security Council and the authority of the Secretary General's reporting must be preserved against any attempt at distortion or politicization. Members of the Security Council must remain anchored in objective facts, international law and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, rather than in disinformation advanced for narrow political purposes

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as an official document of the Security Council.

Please accept, Excellencies, the assurances of my highest consideration.