On January 3, Iran charged the United States with "grotesque" interference in its internal affairs in a letter to the United Nations. The accusations came after the United States openly supported anti-government demonstrations in major cities, including Tehran, Masshad, Qom, and Hamadan. "Such respect for the people of Iran as they try to take back their corrupt government. You will see great support from the United States at the appropriate time," President Trump tweeted. The week of protests were the largest challenge to the Iranian government since the 2009 Green Movement protests. The following is Iran's U.N. Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo's letter to the U.N. Secretary General and the President of the Security Council.
Letter to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council
Excellency,
Upon instructions from my Government and pursuant to my previous letter dated 19 June 2017 regrading US interventionist policy, I have the honor to draw your attention to the most recent and wide-ranging attempts by the Government of the United States to intervene in the domestic affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Against the backdrop of continuous attempts by previous US administrations to disrupt the course of normal political, social and cultural life in Iran in the past several decades, starting from the coup against Iran’s democratically elected Prime minister in 1953, the current US administration has crossed every limit in flouting rules and principles of international law governing the civilized conduct of international relations.
In the past several days, the US administration, led by the US President, has stepped up its acts of intervention in a grotesque way in Iran’s internal affairs under the pretext of providing support for sporadic protests, which in several instances were hijacked by infiltrators to include acts of senseless homicide – including the murder of a 12-year-old boy and his father, blind violence and rampant destruction. The President and Vice-President of the United States, in their numerous absurd tweets, incited Iranians to engage in disruptive acts. The US Department of State went so far as admitting that the US Government wants to encourage protestors in Iran to change their Government, admitting that the US is engaged in interfering with the internal affairs of Iran through Facebook and Twitter.
The current US administration, despite its recent empty statements, has continuously insulted the great Iranian nation and displayed open hostility towards Iranian people, including inter alia by banning ordinary Iranian citizens from entering the United States. It has furthermore violated even its own commitments under the JCPOA by continuing to impose unlawful sanctions against Iran and by taking every possible devious measure to prevent Iranian people from enjoying the economic dividends of US sanction-lifting obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
I wish to underline that the right to protest is recognized and guaranteed in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In exercising this constitutionally-sanctioned principle, protests, demonstrations and sit-ins occur almost on a daily basis by groups of individuals representing various interests in different corners of the country. As in all other democracies, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to protect this right as well as the safety and security of its citizens against acts of violence and destruction.
The flagrant acts of intervention currently undertaken by the US Government are in contravention of peremptory norms of international law and in defiance to the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter. My Government expects that all states condemn such dangerous statements and policies and urge the US Government to act responsibly and to adhere to principles of the UN Charter and international law.
I should be grateful if your Excellency would have the present letter circulated as a document of the Security Council.
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
Gholamali Khoshroo
Ambassador
Permanent Representative
Click here to view the full letter.