Excellency,

Upon instructions from my Government, I wish to draw your attention to the inflammatory statements by Benjamin Netanyahu, boasting about the nuclear weapons capability of the Israeli regime and threatening Iran with nuclear annihilation.

On Wednesday, 29 August 2018, Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking from the underground nuclear weapons development center of this regime, Dimona, boasted about the contribution of "the Dimona project" to the security of Israel and how the establishment of that project and massive acquisition of inhumane nuclear weapons have ensured nuclear deterrent capability of Israel. In his speech, he then pointed to Iran and asserted that "on the military level, Israel will act with full force against Iran", and explicitly threatened Iran with nuclear aggression and annihilation.

Such an inflammatory statement against a non-nuclear-weapon State party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) constitutes a serious violation of international law, in particular Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations, and poses a real threat to international peace and security and, if unaddressed, undermines the credibility of the NPT.

The Security Council, in its resolution 984 (1995), "recognizes that, in case of aggression with nuclear weapons or the threat of such aggression against a non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, any State may bring the matter immediately to the attention of the Security Council …and recognizes also that the nuclear-weapon State permanent members of the Security Council will bring the matter immediately to the attention of the Council and seek Council action" in accordance with the Charter.

In view of the above, the Security Council should fulfill its Charter-based responsibility as well as its commitment under resolution 984 (1995) to strongly condemn the threat by the Israeli regime to use nuclear weapons against Iran, to compel Israel to abandon its illicit nuclear weapons, to urge it to accede to the NPT without delay and place all of its unwarranted nuclear facilities under the full-scope safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

It is indisputable that such inhumane weapons in the hands of the Israeli regime, a regime with an unparalleled record of non-compliance with Security Council resolutions and a long, dark catalogue of crimes and atrocities such as occupation, aggression, militarism, state terrorism and crimes against humanity, poses a uniquely grave threat to regional as well as international peace and security. Peace and stability cannot be achieved in the Middle East while the massive Israeli nuclear arsenal continues to threaten the region and beyond. 

Members of the United Nations should not condone or tolerate such nuclear blackmail in the twenty-first century and should take resolute action to ensure the total elimination of all nuclear weapons as the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a victim of weapons of mass destruction, namely chemical weapons in recent history, is firmly committed to pursuing the realization of a world free from weapons of mass destruction, in words and deeds.

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda items 98, 102(b), (i) and (p), 103(b), and 105 and of the Security Council.

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

Gholamali Khoshroo
Ambassador
Permanent Representative