Statement In Exercising the Right to Reply by Mr. Mohammad Hossein SAYYADNEJAD Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran before The Plenary of the Conference on Disarmament Geneva, 10 March 2026 In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful   Thank you, Mr. President. I am taking the floor to respond to some flawed, politically motivated, and hypocritical statements made by some members. I deeply regret that we are once again witnessing the mockery of international law and the distortion of facts for political purposes aimed at justifying the acts of aggression. Such positions undermine international law and the existing legal order in every respect more than ever. International law does not permit the use of military force under any conditions except for the purpose of self-defense in responding to armed attack and military aggression. The conditions under which self-defence becomes applicable are clearly established under international law, including Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, and the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice. In the absence of an armed attack or aggression, no right of self-defence can arise. No armed attack or aggression has been committed by Iran against any country. On the contrary, it is Iran that has been subjected to armed aggression and is exercising its inherent right of self-defence. We strongly and unequivocally reject the hypocritical statements made by the representative of the United States. The United States has never genuinely sought the peaceful settlement of disputes concerning Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities. Its unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the JCPOA, and its two military aggressions against Iran—both carried out while Iran and the United States were engaged in negotiations—clearly demonstrate this lack of willingness. The reason for this is evident: U.S. policies are increasingly shaped in Israel rather than in Washington. We are pleased that our Foreign Minister attended the conference session on 17 February and provided the members with a briefing on the discussions with the United States. Prior to the aggression on 28 February, the Omani Foreign Minister also informed the international community of the latest developments in the talks between Iran and the United States. It is evident that the regime of the United States and the Israeli regime, by violating international law and Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, are the aggressors. While this aggression has now entered its tenth day, the indiscriminate and blind attacks by these two regimes against civilians and civilian objects and infrastructure in Iran continue. Recently, the President of the United States, in the shadow of the inaction and silence of the international community, threatened to intensify attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in my country. Last night, the President of the United States declared that he is ready and capable of destroying Iran within a single day. I leave it to the room to judge how and with what kind of weapons a country could be destroyed within a single day. For more than 20 years, Israel and the United States have been speaking of the alleged threat of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency has never confirmed any claim that Iran’s nuclear activities have been diverted toward non-peaceful purposes. Perhaps, from the perspective of these two aggressors, the girls’ school they attacked—which resulted in the massacre of 186 children and injuries to many others—was considered to be a nuclear facility! The representative of the criminal Israeli regime, in a repulsive and hypocritical statement, claimed to be pursuing so-called freedom for the people of Iran. The Israeli and U.S. regimes have no right to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs and will not be allowed to bring to Iran the same so-called “freedom” that they have brought for the people of Gaza and Lebanon. The Israeli regime, in disgusting and hypocritical statements, speaks of freedom for the people of Iran, while so far more than 1,500 civilians have lost their lives due to its indiscriminate bombings, and attacks by this regime and the United States against civilians and civilian targets in Iran continue. In response to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, which have been given the opportunity to attend this Conference as observers to contribute to its substantive discussions, I once again emphasize that we respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of our neighboring countries. However, allowing their territory to be used by aggressors to launch attacks against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran is absolutely unacceptable to us. We firmly reject any claims that these bases have not been used against Iran. Regional countries cannot make their territory available to the United States for attacks against Iran in violation of the principles of good-neighborliness and peaceful coexistence, and expect Iran to remain passive and merely observe. We had also warned the countries of the region that if any attack against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran were to be launched from the US bases located in their territories, Iran would have the right, within the framework of international law, to respond accordingly. Iran unequivocally rejects attacks against Turkiye, Azerbaijan, and Cyprus and warns on false-flagged and staged operations. As long as these bases are used to continue aggression against Iran, Iran will, continue to exercise its lawful and legitimate right of self-defence. It should be recalled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates that under subparagraph (f) of Resolution 3314, consensually adopted by the General Assembly in 1974, making one’s territory available to another state for perpetrating an attack against a third state constitutes an act of aggression. To conclude, Mr. President, Iran continues defending itself resolutely. In order to bring this war to an end, the aggressors must cease their aggression. A party that is defending itself will naturally cease its defensive actions once the aggression ends and will have no reason to continue its defensive military operations. Thank you. ---