I am writing with reference to the letter dated 21 April 2020 from the Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2020/322) regarding what she claimed to be “two shipments of arms and related materiel from Iran, which were likely bound for Houthi forces in Yemen”.

The use of uncertain wording such as “likely”, “evidently” or “elements suggesting” by the United States to apparently establish the so-called Iranian origin of at least some portions of the shipments that it has reportedly seized from two stateless dhows on 25 November 2019 and 9 February 2020, as well as the false assumptions and distorted speculations regarding the characteristics and markings of Iranian weapons, clearly indicate how unreliable the relevant information is and how incredible the relevant assessments are. Such futile attempts have also been made to establish Yemen as the destination of those shipments, and a certain party therein as the recipient, so as to draw therefrom the desired arbitrary conclusions to raise baseless claims against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

It has not been the policy of Iran to export weapons in violation of relevant arms embargoes of the Security Council, including those imposed under resolution 2216 (2015), and we will continue to actively cooperate with the United Nations in that regard. As such, the active cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2140 (2014) and the Panel of Experts on Yemen, as well as our constructive engagement with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen and other relevant initiatives, indicate how eager and honest Iran has been in contributing to the settlement of the crisis in Yemen through political means. Since the beginning of that crisis, Iran has always declared that there is no military solution to that conflict and that it must be settled through an inclusive Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned United Nations-facilitated political process (see S/2015/263 and S/2017/949).

Meanwhile, the United States and its regional allies have been part of the problem in the Yemen conflict, which has resulted in the worst man-made humanitarian crisis on Earth in recent years. The export of huge amounts of sophisticated weaponry by certain Western countries, particularly the United States, to some regional countries fighting in Yemen, not only has exacerbated the already disastrous situation there, but also, by prolonging the conflict, has adversely affected regional stability, peace and security.

I must also stress that, contrary to the claim of the United States, Security Council resolution 2231 (2015) does not prohibit the transfer of arms from Iran. Principally, that resolution not only was not meant to impose sanctions against Iran, rather it terminated all sanctions imposed by previous resolutions. Therefore, the temporary arrangements in paragraph 6 (b) of annex B to that resolution were set only to authorize, on a case-by-case basis, the supply, sale or transfer of arms or related materiel from Iran.

However, the United States’ unilateral measures and unlawful sanctions in defiance of that provision have obstructed its implementation. Now, the United States is making utmost efforts, including through spreading disinformation, fabrications and accusations such as those mentioned in the above-mentioned letter, which we reject categorically, to persuade the Security Council to extend those provisional measures, in contravention of the same resolution, including its annex A, paragraph 26.

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

Majid Takht Ravanchi