They were peacefully protesting. Only expressing their right to free speech. Now, five young Iranian men are locked up in jail waiting to be executed. Their crime: “waging war on God.”

Hadi Kiani, Mohammad Bastami, Mehdi Salehi, Majid Nazari and Abbas Mohammadi will most likely join the thousands of others murdered for speaking out against the world’s most abusive regime. And yet, today's debate will focus once again on Israel.

Iran's relentless attempts to acquire military nuclear capabilities, its terrorist proxies that continue to destabilize the region and its grave human rights violations remain the most substantial threat to peace and security in the Middle East. These must be the focus of debates on the region. Sadly, some members of the council completely ignore the threat posed by the regime. I truly hope that isn’t the case today.

In recent weeks, the IAEA confirmed that Iran has escalated its nuclear extortion and begun enriching uranium to 60%. It is clear to everyone that there is no need for Iran to enrich uranium to that level if it is intended for civilian purposes. But Iran's nuclear ambitions are not civilian, they are blatantly military.

Any Iranian claims of wanting to develop nuclear capabilities for civilian purposes should be seen for the lies that they are. There is no civility in Iran's nuclear program. If the regime truly wanted nuclear capabilities for civilian purposes, it could have achieved this years ago. It could have chosen a route similar to other countries – no enrichment of fissile material on their soil, only through import. But Iran refuses to accept this structure.

What more does Iran have to do to prove it is not trustworthy? How long can the international community ignore Iran’s provocative and dangerous behavior?

Just a few short months ago, Iran held a wide-scale military exercise dubbed “The Great Prophet 15.” As a part of the exercise, the IRGC displayed the capabilities of

multiple surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, some of which have the ability of delivering nuclear warheads. This, in complete violation of paragraph 3 of Annex B of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

In February, Iran unveiled its new Space Launch Vehicle. Analysis of this vehicle indicates that it can carry a one-ton warhead as far as five thousand kilometers. These capabilities cast further doubt on the regime’s claims that their space program is for “peaceful purposes.” What peaceful purpose requires a one-ton warhead?

The Ayatollahs also continue to pursue their objective of creating a radical regional hegemony by supporting and arming their terrorist proxies throughout the Middle East.

Be it the Houthis in Yemen, Shia militias in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria or Hamas and the PIJ in the Gaza Strip, Iran spreads its tentacles of terror across the Middle East. It supports, arms and funds these terrorist organizations, which, under its control murder countless people and destabilize the entire region. The only thing the Iranian regime cares about is its tyrannical and murderous objectives. It will say and do whatever is needed to reach that goal.

The regime is also a serial human rights violator. It persecutes minorities and executes protesters, journalists, women, members of the LGBTQ community and thousands of others.

And yet, this council does not take the steps necessary to stop Iran. It continues to ignore the most pressing matter in the Middle East and instead, wastes these debates recycling useless discussions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite the fact that the Abraham Accords have clearly proven this is not the issue – Iran is.

Mr. President,

Over the past few months, despite Iran's continued illegal nuclear development and escalated regional violence, the international community has attempted to reengage with the murderous, genocidal regime in an effort to rejoin the JCPOA.

We believe this would be a serious mistake.

Today, everyone understands that what Prime Minister Netanyahu said back in 2015 – that the deal is fundamentally flawed and does not prevent the threats from Iran – is true. They call for an improved agreement that does not expire in under a decade and that has better and more enforceable inspection mechanisms. Unfortunately, many of them also believe the right way to reach such a deal is by first rejoining the JCPOA and then trying to negotiate a longer and stronger deal with the Iranians.

For us it is hard to understand, once the international community gives up its leverage, why would Iran agree to negotiate a new deal?

Just like in 2015, the fanatical Ayatollahs will use sanctions relief to fund their terrorist activities and continue to secretly develop their military nuclear program. All they will have to do is wait for the restrictions in the agreement to expire by 2030. Then, they will have international legitimacy to have thousands of advanced centrifuges enriching uranium and their breakout time will be almost down to zero, as President Obama himself admitted.

What will this council do if that happens? Why wait until then instead of responding right now? How will you act in the face of Iran's continued violations and its possession of uranium enriched to 60%? It is clear to everyone that the capabilities and knowledge that Iran is developing right now are irreversible and no agreement can roll them back.

The fact that world leaders state they are committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons may be encouraging but it simply isn’t enough. Iran continues to pose an unacceptable threat to Israel and the countries of the region. The international community also wanted to prevent North Korea from becoming a nuclear power – the lessons from then need to be learned.

There is consensus among international intelligence agencies around the world that Iran's nuclear program is intended for military use, not for civilian purposes. Since that is the case, for us to be safe, Iran must not be allowed to have nuclear capabilities today or at any time in the future. We cannot trust that Iran's enrichment capabilities will not be diverted to military use.

The JCPOA did not address any of these concerns. All it did was buy time. For the moderate nations in the Middle East, this is not enough.

Israel is in a unique position. We are the only country in the world that the Iranian regime threatens to annihilate. For Israel, Iran poses an existential threat. That is why we will not see ourselves bound by any agreement that does not fully address the threat against the existence of the State of Israel. And every one of you would do the same if you were in our shoes, particularly in light of the Holocaust.

Mr. President,

Despite the fact that Iran is, without a doubt, the most pressing issue in the region and that Israel time and again in speeches and letters raises these concerns, the debates on the Middle East ignore the dangers of the tyrannical Iranian regime.

If the members of this council intend to once again use their remarks to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I hope that you will at least address how this institution will be able to continue to work with the Palestinian Authority if Hamas increases its power in the upcoming elections and becomes an official part of the Palestinian Authority.

This is the most important issue to address in regards to the conflict. Not recycled old false accusations about demolitions that are carried out only because of illegal construction by the Palestinians.

Hamas, the antisemitic, genocidal terrorist group, calls for the destruction of the Jewish state and for the murder of Israelis.

The fact that Hamas is being allowed to run in the upcoming elections and is predicted to increase its power should be worrying for this body. It should be worrying for everyone.

Terrorists who deny Israel's right to exist are being allowed to participate in the elections. Hamas’s list of candidates includes names such as Jamal Abu al-Hayja, who carried out numerous terrorist attacks, Nael Barghouti, one of the longest-serving inmates in Israeli prison, and Tawfiq Naim, another convicted terrorist.

As then-Senator Biden mentioned in his remarks on the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act in 2006, the political rise of Hamas presents a challenge. Hamas does not even

come close to meeting the Quartet’s three requirements of acknowledging Israel's right to exist, renouncing violence and accepting all previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr. President,

The Abraham Accords have taught us that peace in our region can only be reached through dialogue and acceptance, not through threats and terrorism.

The success of the peace between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan is rooted in the fact that it is a people-to-people peace. It is the citizens of our countries who have embraced the message of coexistence and tolerance and as a result, each other.

For there to be a chance for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, they need to educate for reconciliation, not hate. They need to teach their children to build bridges, not how to blow them up. They need to completely change the discourse.

Part of changing that discourse must start here, with this council. The rhetoric used here needs to be balanced and conducive to reconciliation. The Palestinian leadership's incitement and choice to continue their pay for slay policy instead of using those resources to help their citizens, must be criticized by this council.

This forum must also call for the critically needed reforms in UNWRA.

The textbooks used by UNRWA encourage violence and terrorism; they include antisemitic content and further entrench the conflict. UNRWA itself admitted to having found material inconsistent with UN values, but there is no evidence to indicate that it has taken any meaningful steps to rid itself of this deplorable content.

The organization has long become a political one that distorts the definition of a refugee and, without a complete overhaul, has no legitimacy to exist.

Mr. President,

We cannot end without addressing the outrageous claims made against Israel in regards to COVID 19, instead of it being praised for all that it has done.

Israel has worked with the international community since the beginning of the pandemic to assist the Palestinians in dealing with the crisis. We see it as our moral obligation to help the Palestinians and we understand that it is also in our interest to help our neighbors. Despite this productive cooperation, which, by the way, has been recognized by consecutive Special Coordinators for the Middle East Peace Process, the PA has attempted to slander Israel and many members of the council have echoed their false claims.

If we truly want to encourage productive dialogue and build trust between the sides, perhaps this council should discuss how, despite having no legal obligation to do so, Israel has vaccinated many Palestinians.

We have provided 5,200 vaccines to the PA and have vaccinated over 100,000 Palestinian workers in Israel. We have also facilitated the transfer of 61,000 vaccines through the WHO COVAX program, 60,000 from the UAE, 10,000 from Russia and 100,000 from China.

Israel has also vaccinated all foreign diplomats stationed in Israel, including the UN workers and forces.

Understanding that according to the Oslo Accords it is the PA’s responsibility to care for all medical issues, including vaccination, they have signed a deal for 2 million doses and should be receiving over 400,000 of those units by June.

Mr. President,

These are turbulent times in the Middle East. Iran continues to be the biggest threat to peace and security in the region, and beyond. If the council wants to play a conducive role in bringing stability to the region, it must focus on the most pressing issues facing the region and take action. Furthermore, it must be sure to adopt approaches to bringing peace that have proven to work, and not cling on to approaches that have failed time and again because of the Palestinian’s rejectionism, and only because of that.

Thank you, Mr. President.​