Tehran condemns U.S. intensified restrictions on Iranian UN mission in New York

In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns the intensification of restrictions imposed upon the diplomatic Mission of Iran to the United Nations in New York, and calls for more robust intervention by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in order to prevent the infringement of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s lawful rights.

The imposition of sweeping restrictions on the residence of Iranian diplomats and on their movements; the tightening of restrictions on their banking accounts; and the imposition of constraints upon daily purchases, constitute pressures and harassments devised and implemented with the objective of obstructing the normal and lawful discharge of duties by Iranian diplomats.

The decision of the United States Department of State to bar three staff members of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran in New York from continuing their functions constitutes the apex of lawlessness and the breach of host-country obligations by the United States, thereby further calling into question the United States’ suitability to serve as host of this Organization.

This decision—adopted on the basis of spurious reasoning and unfounded allegations—not only represents yet another manifest indication of the hostility and animus of U.S. political decision-makers toward the Iranian people, but also constitutes a flagrant breach of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and an infringement upon the sovereign rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, while strongly condemning the action of the United States in preventing the lawful discharge of functions by three members of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran in New York, emphasizes that such conduct is wrongful and unlawful, amounts to an explicit and egregious violation of the obligations of the United States under the Headquarters Agreement, and entails the international responsibility of the United States.

The escalation of instances of misuse by the United States of its position as host of the United Nations Secretariat in order to exert pressure on Member States constitutes a clear violation of the provisions of the Headquarters Agreement, particularly Section 8 thereof, disrupts the efficiency and proper functioning of the Organization, and undermines the credibility and standing of the Secretary-General personally as the highest administrative official of the Organization.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recalling the responsibilities of the Secretary-General as the signatory of the Headquarters Agreement on behalf of the Member States, calls upon him to intervene in order to forestall the continuation of unlawful conduct and the infringement of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s legal rights.

The Islamic Republic of Iran likewise warns that, should Member States exhibit indifference, the normalization of violations by the host country of its obligations under the Headquarters Agreement would follow, and stresses the necessity of a response by all responsible States to the United States’ breach of its treaty obligations.

The Islamic Republic of Iran will persist in its efforts to vindicate its sovereign rights and to hold the United States accountable for its repeated and ongoing violations of its obligations under the Headquarters Agreement.