MNA – Iran’s Permanent Representative to OPCW Alireza Jahangiri, while slamming the US-led strikes on Syria, said Mon. that the OPCW is at stake and some delegations take hostage of this technical forum for their political intents.


Delivering Iran’s statement at the 58th meeting of the OPCW Executive Council, Permanent Representative to OPCW Alireza Jahangiri categorically condemned the US-led airstrikes on Syria as a a “flagrant breach of international law and the UN Charter” which was carried out on 14 April “on the pretext of the use of chemical weapons, which has not yet been verified by this august Organization.”

“Such military action will definitely undermine further the pillars of peace and security in the world… promote extremism and terrorism and hence more use of chemical weapons by terrorists in Syria,” he added.

Jahangiri went on to add that Iran acknowledges the important role of the Fact-Finding Mission in Syria, in establishing the truth regarding the alleged use of chemical weapons in Douma, adding that the findings should rely on “verifiable and independent sources”.

The full text of Jahangiri’s address at the 58th meeting of the OPCW Executive Council is available here.

Also at the meeting, the Syrian authorities have offered experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to meet and personally communicate with 22 witnesses to the incident in Syria’s Duma, OPCW Director General Ahmet Uzumcu said in a statement.

"In the meantime, the Team [of experts] was offered by the Syrian authorities that they could interview 22 witnesses who could be brought to Damascus. I hope that all necessary arrangements will be made through the UNDSS [the United Nations Department of Safety and Security] to allow the team to deploy to Douma as soon as possible," he said.