Iran backs OPCW-Syria dialog, impartial probe into chemical file

Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations, made the remarks before a UN Security Council briefing on Syria on Thursday.

“We fully support constructive dialog between Syria and the OPCW (the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons),” he said.

“We believe that to ensure a successful outcome, any investigation into chemical weapons incidents must be conducted with utmost impartiality, professionalism, credibility, and objectivity…,” the envoy stated.

“We reiterate our stance that the integrity and credibility of the OPCW hinge on its ability to maintain neutrality and objectivity, guided solely by scientific and technical considerations,” Iravani noted.

The efforts, the envoy hoped, would help “address any remaining issues and bring the file to a final and conclusive closure.”

The Arab country surrendered its entire chemical stockpile in 2013 to a mission led by the UN and the OPCW.

Western governments have, however, repeatedly accused Damascus of carrying out alleged chemical operations during the foreign-backed war in the country, and have brought it under attack on several occasions using the allegations.

The last of the attacks took place in April 2018 by the United States, Britain, and France, which launched a coordinated missile offensive against sites and research facilities near Damascus and the western city of Homs after accusing Syria of conducting a chemical operation near the Syrian city of Douma earlier that month.

Damascus, however, said that no chemical attack had happened and that the Douma incident had been staged by foreign intelligence agencies to pressure the government in the face of the Syrian army’s advances against foreign-backed terrorists.