Iran’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, in an urgent letter addressed to the Secretary-General, the President of the Security Council, and the President of the General Assembly, stated that the Israeli regime bears full responsibility for the commission of this war crime following the killing of four Iranian diplomats in Lebanon.

 

The text of the letter from Saeed Iravani, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, to the Secretary-General, the President of the Security Council, and the President of the General Assembly regarding the assassination of four Iranian diplomats in Lebanon by the Israeli regime reads as follows:

 

Excellency,

Upon instructions from my Government, and further to my letter dated 4 March 2026 concerning the unlawful threat of the use of force by the Israeli regime against the diplomatic premises and personnel of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Lebanon, I regret to inform Your Excellency and the members of the Security Council, with profound sorrow and grave concern, of the cowardly terrorist assassination of four Iranian diplomats in Beirut. 

 

In the early hours of Sunday, 8 March 2026, the Israeli regime carried out a deliberate terrorist attack against the Ramada Hotel in Beirut, which resulted in the assassination and martyrdom of four diplomats of the Islamic Republic of Iran, namely:

 

1) Mr. Majid Hassani Kondsar (Second Secretary);

2) Mr. Alireza Bi-Azar (Third Secretary);

3) Mr. Hossein Ahmadlou (Attaché); and

4) Mr. Ahmad Rasouli (Assigned to the Mission)

 

This heinous crime followed explicit and publicly issued threats by the Israeli regime. On 3 March 2026, the official spokesperson of the Israeli regime’s armed forces publicly threatened to target the official representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Lebanon. In response to this explicit threat, and for the purpose of ensuring their safety and security, the Iranian Diplomats temporarily relocated from their official residential premises to the Ramada Hotel. The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran duly notified and coordinated this relocation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon in its capacity as the receiving State under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.

 

The targeted killing of four Iranian diplomats while they were serving as official representatives of a sovereign Member State on the territory of another sovereign State constitutes a grave terrorist act and a serious breach of international law. Such a heinous crime represents a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, including the fundamental prohibition on the use of force; it constitutes a clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents, of 1973, both of which unequivocally affirm the inviolability and protection of diplomatic agents and missions. The protection of internationally protected persons, including diplomats, constitutes an established and absolute obligation under international law.

 

The Islamic Republic of Iran unequivocally and in the strongest possible terms condemns this heinous and cowardly terrorist crime and the assassination of its diplomats. The Islamic Republic of Iran emphasises that such a flagrant violation of international law cannot go unpunished. All perpetrators of this criminal act must be held fully accountable and brought to justice. Those responsible for this crime must not be permitted to evade responsibility or to enjoy impunity for their international criminal responsibility. In this regard, the Islamic Republic of Iran calls upon the Secretary-General and the members of the Security Council to:

 

1. Explicitly and unequivocally condemn this heinous terrorist attack against the diplomats of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Lebanon; and

 

2. Ensure full accountability and undertake the necessary measures to bring to justice those responsible for this criminal act committed in flagrant violation of international law.

 

The Israeli regime bears full responsibility for the perpetration of this war crime and must be held fully accountable for its consequences.

 

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as an official document of the Security Council and of the General Assembly under agenda item 84, entitled “The Rule of Law at the National and International Levels.”

 

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.