Majid Takht-Ravanchi

New York (IP) – In an address to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the UN said that besides providing golden opportunities, cyberspace could be used to commit acts of aggression, breaches of the peace, and violation of the sovereignty of states.

Iran PressAmerica: Majid Takht-Ravanchi stated: “Cyberspace provides golden opportunities for humankind to develop and promote all aspects of its life constantly. Such a great enabler must therefore not only be promoted throughout the world particularly in developing countries but also be protected against all threats.”
“Cyberspace can also be used to commit acts of aggression, including breaches of the peace and the threat or use of force, to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state, to violate the sovereignty of States, or to coerce other States; these must also be effectively prevented,” he noted.
“As a guiding principle, the existing “applicable” principles and norms of international law, of course without misinterpretation or arbitrary interpretation, must govern the rights, duties, and conducts of States concerning Cyberspace,” he pointed out.
He also objected to the non-consensus about the applicability of international law and the lack of international norms related to cyberspace. He called on the international community to work towards developing required standards.
“Parallel to such efforts, States must make every effort to promote the widest possible use of cyberspace for their development and in doing so, act responsibly and under applicable international law, particularly the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations,” Takht-Ravanchi proposed.
He underlined: "States must act cooperatively, responsibly and in full accordance with applicable international law so that cyberspace can be used exclusively for peaceful purposes."
“Finally, we share the views that consideration of cyberspace-related issues must be continued in the General Assembly. For its part, the Islamic Republic of Iran, as one of the victims of cyberattacks, through the Stuxnet malicious computer worm – believed to be built jointly by the United States and the Israeli regime to cause damage to the Iranian peaceful nuclear installations – stands ready to contribute to Assembly’s efforts in developing principles and norms required for cyberspace,” he concluded.

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