General Assembly Sixtieth session Agenda items 9, 82, 87, 94, 95, 97 and 110 Report of the Security Council Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization Prohibition of the development and manufacture of new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons: report of the Conference on Disarmament Establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region of the Middle East Conclusion of effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons General and complete disarmament Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization Security Council Sixty-first year Letter dated 27 April 2006 from the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General Upon instructions from my Government and pursuant to my letter No. 094 dated 17 March 2006 (A/60/730-S/2006/178), I wish to inform you that the use of false pretexts by various senior officials of the United States of America to make public and illegal threats of resort to force against the Islamic Republic of Iran, is continuing unabated in total contempt of international law and fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations. These insolent threats have even entered a new phase with the publication of the recent news in United States newspapers revealing the consideration of nuclear strikes in the United States’ aggressive policy against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the subsequent refusal of senior United States officials to deny it. In this regard, on Tuesday, 18 April 2006, in a question-and-answer session in the White House, when asked whether United States options regarding Iran “include the possibility of a nuclear strike” and whether his Administration is planning for such a prospect, President George W. Bush refused to rule out a United States nuclear strike on Iran and instead replied, “All options are on the table.” Moreover, on Thursday, 20 April 2006, the Secretary of State of the United States, Condoleezza Rice, speaking to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, and in reply to a question on Iran said “ ... we are prepared to use measures at our disposal — political, economic and others”, and yet again she reiterated the United States President’s view that “all options remain on the table”. Such dangerous statements, particularly those of the President of the United States, widely considered in political and media circles as a tacit confirmation of the shocking news on the Administration’s possible contemplation of nuclear strikes against certain targets in Iran, defiantly articulate the United States policies and intentions on the resort to nuclear weapons in contravention of international law, the Charter of the United Nations, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and other United States multilateral undertakings on negative security assurances. In view of the past illegal behaviour of the United States, these assertions yet again constitute matters of extreme gravity that require an urgent, concerted and resolute response on the part of the United Nations and particularly the Security Council. It is indeed regrettable that past failures of the United Nations in responding to these illegal and inexcusable threats have emboldened senior United States officials to go further and even consider the use of nuclear weapons as an “option on the table”. It would be highly appreciated if this letter were circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda items 9, 82, 87, 94, 95, 97 and 110, and of the Security Council. (Signed) M. Javad Zarif   \* MERGEFORMAT 2 \* MERGEFORMAT 2 United Nations A/60/834–S/2006/273 General Assembly Security Council Distr.: General 1 May 2006 Original: English 06-33442 (E) 010506 *0633442* A/60/834 S/2006/273 A/60/834 S/2006/273