WANA (Mar 27) – Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, in a letter to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, addressed media speculation regarding alleged plans by the United States and Israel to assassinate senior Iranian officials, including the Speaker of Parliament and the Foreign Minister. He called on the Council to condemn any threat or attempt to assassinate government leaders and to hold accountable those responsible for planning, authorizing, supporting, or carrying out such acts.

 

Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, wrote to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council regarding media reports alleging assassination plans targeting Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, by the United States and the Israeli regime.

 

The letter states: Acting on instructions from my government, and following my previous correspondence regarding acts of aggression, war crimes, and terrorist actions committed by the United States and Israel against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran since February 28, 2026, I wish to draw your urgent attention, and that of the members of the Security Council, to recent media reports. These reports indicate that the United States and Israel have identified senior Iranian officials—including Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi—as targets for assassination. The reports further suggest that any suspension of such plans is merely temporary.

 

The letter continues: These reports point to the existence of an operational framework aimed at assassinating the highest-ranking political officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Such a policy, it asserts, has already been pursued in practice—particularly since the onset of aggression against Iran on February 28, 2026—and has been systematically implemented through the assassination of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution and several other senior political figures. This policy constitutes a clear violation of peremptory norms of international law. The conditional nature of any purported “suspension” further indicates that the threat remains real, deliberate, and ongoing.

 

Iravani adds: Such threats, rooted in a criminal mindset that has openly dismissed the “rules of engagement” as “stupid,” are deeply alarming. These actors, in cooperation with what he describes as terrorist authorities in Tel Aviv, have already engaged in overt acts of state terrorism—deliberately bombing and killing hundreds of students, targeting hospitals, destroying cultural heritage sites, and committing other grave crimes. The promotion of so-called “assassination lists,” he argues, should be seen as another manifestation of the same terrorist conduct that initiated a criminal war against Iran and has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 civilians.

 

The Iranian representative emphasized that a premeditated policy to assassinate senior officials of a sovereign UN member state constitutes a blatant violation of the UN Charter. Any such unlawful and cowardly act, he said, amounts not only to terrorism but also to a serious breach of international human rights law—including the right to life—as well as international humanitarian law.

 

He further noted that, under customary international law, officials at the level of foreign minister enjoy full personal immunity, a principle repeatedly affirmed by the International Court of Justice. Any attempt on their lives would violate this immunity and undermine the foundations of peaceful international relations.

 

The letter states that the Islamic Republic of Iran firmly condemns any policy aimed at normalizing the assassination of senior government officials. Such a destructive and malicious approach constitutes state terrorism, sets a dangerous precedent, and represents a serious escalation that threatens international peace and security. Full responsibility for such internationally wrongful acts, the letter asserts, lies directly with the United States and Israel.

 

The senior Iranian diplomat added that, given the severity and consequences of these violations—which affect fundamental principles of international law, the foundations of the international community, and the very purpose of the United Nations—Iran calls on the Security Council to:

 

  • Explicitly and unequivocally condemn any threat or attempt to assassinate government officials and leaders as a clear violation of international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law;
  • Hold accountable those responsible for planning, authorizing, supporting, and carrying out such terrorist acts;
  • Compel the United States and Israel to comply with their binding obligations under the UN Charter and international law, and to cease all grave violations and unlawful actions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

The letter concludes by warning that if such serious threats and violations go unaddressed or unanswered, it will set a highly dangerous precedent—one that undermines the foundations of international law and exposes all states to similar unlawful and destabilizing practices.