Islamic Republic of Iran   بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم  Mr. Chairperson, I would like to begin by congratulating you, Ambassador Almir Šahović, on your election as the chairperson of the Conference, and assure you of my delegation’s full support and cooperation. I shall appreciate the Director General and the Technical Secretariat for their efforts in preparing this session. My delegation associates itself with the statement to be delivered by Uganda, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement and China.   Mr. Chairperson, Director-General, Distinguished Delegated, It is a privilege for me as the representative of the last and biggest victim of an entire category of WMD, namely chemical weapons, to address the Twenty-ninth Session of the CSP. It has been more than a year that innocent Palestinians are under the brutal and inhumane aggression of Israeli regime, which has cost the lives of more than 45 thousand civilians, mostly women and children. While we have gathered here to advance the international peace and security, the catastrophic situation in Gaza continues amid genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, displacement of people and destruction of civilian and humanitarian infrastructure. Enjoying impunity, the regime extended its aggression to the Lebanon, propelling the region into an irreversible escalation.  The widespread condemnation and prosecution by international organisations and tribunals do not stop the vicious crimes of the Israeli regime, as long as it enjoys full support of certain states and the inaction of the United Nation Security Council. The UNSC has not been able to stop this carnage and abhorrence due to the United States’ unyielding support to the Israeli regime. The perpetrators and sponsors of the ongoing massacre in Gaza and Lebanon must be held accountable for their crimes. Impunity shall be ended immediately. It is high time that the rule of law be restored, and the overdue justice be served. The UNSC should impose effective sanctions against the Israeli regime under Chapter VII of the Charter of the UN. It is also incumbent upon all states to desist and refrain from any form of aid and assistance or weapon and economic dealings with the regime, so to stop its genocidal attacks and its occupation. This is also the very stance of the recent advisory opinion of the ICJ, where it proscribes any aide or assistance and any economic or trade dealing with the said regime that may be conducive to the maintenance of the occupation.   Mr. Chairperson, We would like to express our grave concern over the repeatedly use of fatal substances against Palestinian and Lebanese people such as white phosphorous munitions and depleted Uranium. Among many reliable sources, the UNIFIL has recently confirmed injuries of its peacekeepers in result of chemical attacks by the Israeli regime. My delegation accordingly requests the Director-General of the OPCW to continue his endeavours concerning the war against Gaza and Lebanon, closely monitoring the development, investigate this serious matter thoroughly and intensify efforts to ensure safeguarding the Palestinians and Lebanese from the threats of the chemical weapons. We request the CWC States Parties to stand firm and to make every efforts to put an immediate end to the prolonged suffering of the people in Palestine and Lebanon. Crimes of the Israeli regime in Gaza and Lebanon once again reminds the serious danger of its chemical weapons for regional and international peace and security, and the utmost importance of universality of the Convention. We are of the view that in the post-destruction era, universal adherence to the Convention shall be a major priority for this Organisation. The Israeli regime’s weapon of mass destruction arsenals are the main source of concern and are a threat to regional and international peace and security. The international community should exert pressure on the regime to accede to the Convention and put its facilities under the OPCW verification regime.   Mr. Chairperson, The US delegation, in full disregard of the provisions of Article IX of the CWC on consultation, clarification and cooperation, made some unsubstantiated allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran. These baseless accusations from the last possessor state towards the biggest victim of chemical weapons in the contemporary era have been fabricated immediately after the completion of the elimination of the US's massive chemical weapons stockpiles in 2023 with a long-time delay and multiple extensions. Since the allegations were based on open-source misinformation such as hacker groups and were motivated by short-sighted political incentives, the US failed to present any credible evidence. It is very regrettable that the US, in order to distract from the Israeli regime’s wide use of US-made white phosphorus and other prohibited munitions against civilians in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the repeated uses of chemical weapons by American-made terrorist groups such as ISIS in Syria and Iraq, accuses others in a very deplorable way. The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to strongly reject the allegations made by the US, a country which violated its main undertakings under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Iran’s relevant chemical/pharmaceutical facilities are under the OPCW verification and inspection regime. The United States has a long history of non-compliance with the Convention. In 2003, six years after the US and coalition forces invaded Iraq under the pretext of the existence of weapons of mass destruction, the US and its allies informed the OPCW that they had transferred and destroyed chemical weapons discovered in Iraq. In the same time, the Islamic Republic of Iran expressed its concerns and ambiguities through a set of questions to the US and its allies regarding the failure to declare the discovery, transfer, sampling, analysis, and destruction of chemical weapons discovered in Iraq without informing the Technical Secretariat of the Organization, but Iran never received a convincing answer. Moreover, Iran, in line with the provisions of Article IX, in 2004 and 2008, raised concerns regarding US non-compliance with the CWC, inter alia, first, the US clandestine role in the Israeli regime’s chemical weapons program and supplying the regime with the precursors to produce Schedule 1 chemicals, and second, the US non-lethal and incapacitating weapons program which continues to produce until 2024. The US failed to address any concerns or ambiguities again which is non-compliance to the Convention. Additionally, the release of some of the US scientific community patents on CNS-acting chemicals, as an indication of the US's continued work on this topic, is a matter of grave concern. My delegation wishes to categorically reject the unsubstantiated accusations levelled by the US and reaffirms Iran’s unwavering commitment to the object and purpose of the Convention. Iran continues its constructive cooperation with the OPCW as the sole competent authority to determine the compliance of the States Parties with their obligations under the CWC, which provides the most comprehensive verification mechanism.   Mr. Chairperson, The Islamic Republic of Iran attaches great importance to the full, effective, and non-discriminatory implementation of the Convention. It is disappointing that decades after the entry into force of the Convention, Articles X and XI have yet to be fully implemented. Facilitating the trade of chemicals and relevant equipment and transfer of technology has been a major incentive for developing countries to join the Convention. The policy of blockade and restriction is contrary to the letter and spirit of the Convention. Imposing illegal sanctions, which impede provision of medicine and medical supplies for treatment of the Iranian chemically wounded victims, is also a serious violation of human rights. Taking concrete measures to address the needs of the victims of chemical weapons lies within the responsibilities of the Organization and the States Parties. The Organisation owes its success to the victims of chemical weapons, on the one hand, and a well-defined Convention which totally rejects the existence of chemical weapons on the other. While the Organisation works toward a world free of chemical weapons, it shall not forget to remedy the chemical weapons victims’ situation. To ensure that chemical weapons will not be produced and used again, the providers of the inhumane weapons, particularly Germany, and the United States should be exposed to the international community for being held accountable for assisting Saddam regime’s to commit such heinous crimes. There are legitimate expectation by the victims that countries who equipped Saddam regime’s with chemical weapons now have the obligation to compensate their internationally wrongful acts and crimes.   Mr. Chairperson, The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly supports the Organisation and its activities according to the Convention and principles of professionalism, impartiality and independence. We encourage all States Parties to work in close cooperation for the implementation of the Convention. The decisions and agreements are more credible and will be implemented by all States Parties fully and effectively, when they are taken by consensus. We have to revive the good tradition of consensus in the Organization. We also have to preserve the technical nature of the Organization and avoid its further politicization and polarization.   Mr. Chairperson, The Islamic Republic of Iran encourages dialogue and cooperation within a mutually agreed framework, as the most effective way to resolve any remaining issues related to the Syrian Arab Republic. We welcome continuing progress, including the 28th round of consultation with the Declaration Assessment Team, and support constructive engagement between Syria and the Technical Secretariat.   Mr. Chairperson, Iran welcomes advancements in scientific and technological fields as well as the promotion of international cooperation and believes that scientific and technological development must facilitate full, effective and non-discriminatory implementation of the CWC. Emerging technologies can foster the international cooperation on assistance and protection and exchange of knowledge and trade in the fields of chemicals as areas that their implementation still suffering from adequate progress.   Finally, Mr. Chairperson, I would kindly ask you to consider this statement as an official document of this session and publish it on the external server and the website of the OPCW.   I thank you Mr. Chairperson.