In a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres and President of the UN Security Council Fu Cong on May 22, Saeed Iravani said the accusations made by the UAE during the council’s open debate on the protection of civilians were aimed at distorting realities on the ground and misleading the international community about the legal and factual context of the conflict.
He also stressed that the United States and the Israeli regime had launched a premeditated and unlawful war against Iran in violation of the UN Charter and international law, adding that certain regional states, including the UAE, had enabled the aggression by providing military bases, logistical and operational support, intelligence cooperation, and airspace access.
What follows is the full text of his letter:
In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Excellency,
I am writing regarding the Security Council's open debate on the protection of civilians, held on 20 and 21 May 2026 (10152nd and 10154th meetings), during which baseless, politically motivated, and irresponsible allegations were levelled against the Islamic Republic of Iran by certain States, most notably by the representative of the United Arab Emirates. The Islamic Republic of Iran categorically rejects these unfounded and inflammatory accusations in their entirety. Such baseless allegations constitute a deliberate attempt to distort the realities on the ground, mislead the international community, and invert the legal and factual context of the situation.
The undeniable fact remains that the United States and the Israeli regime have committed unlawful acts of aggression and carried out a premeditated and unprovoked war against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, international law, and international humanitarian law. Certain States in the region, including the United Arab Emirates, have enabled and facilitated this unlawful aggression against Iran by providing military bases and facilities, operational and logistical support, intelligence cooperation, airspace access, and other forms of direct and indirect assistance used by the United States. Accordingly, international responsibility entails not only the principal aggressors, namely the United States and the Israeli regime, but also those States that aided, assisted, financed, facilitated, coordinated, or otherwise contributed to the commission of these internationally wrongful acts against the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, as the victim of this aggression, has solely exercised its inherent right to self-defense as enshrined in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, to protect its sovereignty, territorial integrity, national security, and vital interests. Any attempt to attribute responsibility to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the very State subjected to armed attack and aggression, is legally untenable, politically misleading, and manifestly contrary to established principles of international law.
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.