Addressing the Fourth United Nations Counter-terrorism Conference in New York on June 30, Iran’s Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Gholam Hossein Darzi, said the Islamic Republic has remained at the forefront of regional and international efforts to combat terrorism.
What follows is the full text of his speech:
In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Mr. Chair,
We thank the Secretariat for providing insightful briefing in this meeting on terrorism landscape.
The Islamic Republic of Iran as a responsible founding Member of the United Nations has demonstrated it continued commitment in fighting terrorism by playing its crucial and determining role in defeating terrorist groups such as ISIS in the region. Such a role has always been praised by the peoples and governments of affected States. Without the sacrifices of the bravest of our people, especially General Qassem Soleimani who was at the forefront of counterterrorism in the region, the ISIS would have expanded its scourge of terror and violence beyond the region. ISIS has been defeated and has lost its brutal control and territorial dominance, nevertheless, the threat of resurgence of this terrorist group persists as it continues to conduct terrorist attacks against law enforcement and security forces and innocent civilians.
The unlawful presence of and willful material support by foreign forces outside the region, especially the United States as the sponsor terrorism in the region and beyond, has been among the main breeding grounds for regrouping of terrorist entities. Let’s not forget that the United States officials clearly stated that they created ISIS and supported this tourist group in practice.
We express our concern regarding the unlawful intervention of such forces and their malicious intent to undermine counter-terrorism efforts in pursuance of their unjust political objectives including through use of force and unilateral coercive measures which grossly violate the fundamental principles of international law.
Mr. Chair,
As part of its counter-terrorism efforts at the international level, the Islamic Republic of Iran, in conjunction with the Asian African Legal Consultative Organization organized and hosted the “AALCO Regional Conference on Preventing and Countering Terrorism” on 3rd and 4th July 2024 in Tehran.
Delegations from member States and representatives of international and regional organizations including the UNODC, the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the African Union participated in this Conference, and addressed, among others, theoretical and practical dimensions of countering terrorism, role of international and regional organizations in this respect and experience of some West Asian countries in preventing and combating terrorism through regional cooperation.
At the domestic level, appropriate measures have been taken to strengthen national counterterrorism measures. In this regard, the Islamic Republic of Iran, in recent years, has amended its relevant domestic laws especially the Acts on Countering Terrorism Financing and Money Laundering consistent with international standards. In October 2025, following the finalization of internal processes, my country acceded to the International Convention for Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.
Mr. Chair,
To conclude, I would like to underline the importance we attach to the United Nations Conference on Counterterrorism which provides an opportunity for promoting the commitment of the international community in fighting terrorism.
We believe this process and selection of panelists, in particular those outside the UN system, deserves transparency and close consultation with all Member States.
This is in particular important to ensure that this setting is not misused for unjust political objectives or to justify acts of genocide against Muslims, as we observed yesterday in segment II of the Conference.
We believe genuine adherence to international law and to obligations in fighting against terrorism requires rejection of such approaches that undermine achieving a world free from terrorism.
We remain committed to our obligations in countering terrorism and underline the role of the United Nations in promoting multilateralism in fighting this scourge in accordance with the UN Charter.
I thank you.
MNA
