Statement by H.E. Mr. Amir Saeid Iravani Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran Before the UNSC Open Briefing on the Situation in the Middle East New York, 28 January 2026 In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful Mr. President, Despite the ceasefire announced in October 2025, Gaza remains a devastated and besieged enclave. Israel, the occupying regime, has repeatedly and systematically violated this ceasefire. At the same time, the Israeli regime has imposed severe restrictions on humanitarian access, deliberately aggravating starvation, disease, and suffering. This sustained pattern of criminal conduct is accompanied by a deliberate Israeli campaign to dismantle humanitarian action. Israel has systematically targeted UNRWA and international humanitarian organizations through legislation, seizures of UN property, closures of schools, expulsion of staff, and defamation—despite the absence of any substantiated evidence. The objective is clear: to paralyze humanitarian operations, particularly in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel persists in expanding illegal settlements across the West Bank, in flagrant violation of international law, United Nations resolutions, and binding rulings of the International Court of Justice. That Israel is allowed to commit such crimes without consequence only emboldens its entrenched culture of impunity. Mr. President, Having failed to achieve its objectives through the 12-day war of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran in June 2025, the Israeli regime is now pursuing the same aims through political destabilization, incitement of internal unrest, and the deliberate spread of chaos inside Iran. Between 8 and 10 January, innocent Iranian civilians and hundreds of law enforcement and police officers were killed by armed and terrorist groups directly supported by the United States and the Israeli regime. Mr. President, Iran supports every credible initiative aimed at ending the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, ensuring the complete withdrawal of occupying forces, establishing a permanent and unconditional ceasefire, guaranteeing unhindered humanitarian access, and restoring the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. However, the mechanisms established under resolution 2803 for the administration of Gaza—including the creation of so-called “international stabilization forces” (ISF) and a “Board of Peace”—in practice undermine the Palestinian people’s fundamental right to self-determination, legitimize the continued Israeli occupation of Gaza, and reduce Palestinian authority over their own land to a mere service-delivery role. These mechanisms disregard the territorial integrity of Palestine across Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem; convert the inherent right to have an independent Palestinian State into a conditional privilege; and effectively facilitate the forced displacement of the population of northern Gaza to other parts of Gaza or beyond. Moreover, they sideline the Security Council by transferring its responsibilities to a selected “Board of Peace” by the President of the United States and ignore all previous Security Council resolutions on Palestine. Mr. President, Ending the war in Gaza—however essential—does not relieve Member States or international bodies of their legal and moral obligations. Justice requires full accountability. Those responsible for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity must be held to account. In closing, I categorically reject the baseless allegations made by the representative of the Israeli regime at this meeting. Once again, the representative of this rogue and terrorist regime deliberately departed from the Council’s agenda and resorted to lies, disinformation, and unfounded accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is a calculated and familiar tactic aimed at diverting attention from the regime’s ongoing grave crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza and its continued destabilizing actions across the region. Also, today, the representative of Latvia made unfounded claims against my country. I remind the representative of Latvia, as a new member of this Council, to act responsibly, refrain from being misled by false narratives and misinformation, and uphold the dignity and responsibilities of a Security Council member in accordance with the Charter. I also reject the politically-motivated allegations raised by the representative of Canada. I thank you, Mr. President.