Following the Assassination of Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani
A letter by Iranian authors to the United Nations
In the Name of God—the God of Pen and the God of Life and Reason
Dear Secretary-General of the United Nations
We are a group of Iranian authors. Like authors who live in other countries, we live under a flag that symbolizes our country and we live under a government that we have chosen, and we write for our people. We have always tried to promote sympathy, friendship, kindness, and morality by means of our words wherever needed. We have praised defense against domination and injustice, and we have rebuked the violation of human rights wherever it takes place throughout the world. Now our country has been threatened by a country that lays claim to the promotion of peace and security. A popular official authority of our country has been assassinated by the United States of America with illogical reasons, and this is a serious threat to the peace and security of our country. Threatening the security of a country by assassinating one of its official authorities is to set a dangerous and barbarian precedent, and is indeed a threat to the security of all countries and all people around the world.
We, Iranian authors and the signers of this letter, condemn this illegal act committed by the United States against international laws. We do not, however, limit the condemnation to the issuance of a statement and a complaint to the United Nations. Authors in any country see themselves obliged to promote peace and friendship among their own people as well as people around the world. Such an objective can only be realized if there are people. Now that the US government has aimed at the destruction of our people by committing such a crime and making such a threat, we see ourselves obliged to, first and foremost, protect our people against threats as part of our obligation to promote peace and friendship. We, Iranian authors, see the protection of the security of our people as equivalent to that of the whole world. And we support the defensive response of our government to this threat—indeed, we will help the government to carry it out.
Dear general-secretary of the United Nations! This letter is not a complaint. It is a statement of the view of the authors who respect their own country, the life of their own people, and logical, human, and international regulations. Based on this respect, they announce their own contribution to, and support of, any measure taken by their government as a response to the threatening government.réponse au gouvernement menaçant.