Iran as a victim of terrorism

Zeynab Malakouti

In recent years, top Iranian scientists have been assassinated on the Iranian soil. The latest one was the assassination of Mr. Fakhrizadeh who was a senior nuclear scientist. This assassination is a blatant violation of the provisions of international law and international human rights law. The origin of the modern law on the fundamental rights of states is manifested in the Montevideo Convention (1933), which stipulates the right to sovereign territory (Article 3), equality of state (Article 4), freedom from intervention in internal and external affairs (Article 8), and the inviolability of state territory (Article 11). 
In terms of international human rights law, and in this case, the right to life of Mr. Fakhrizadeh was violated as no one shall be deprived of his life intentionally. This terrorist attack has violated both international law and international human rights law, specifically the sovereignty right of state, non-intervention and the right to life. 
Although Iran sent a letter to the United Nations  Secretary General and the United Nations Security Council and condemned this terrorist act, it should not restrict its legal actions to condemnation. Other legal actions must be taken into account at the international level, such as international cooperation with other countries, and calling for establishment of a fact-finding committee in the UN in order to introduce the perpetrators and states behind this attack. 
At the international level, there is a propaganda against Iran alleging that it is a state-sponsor of terrorism because of supporting Hizbullah and Hamas, which are national liberation movements. However, Iran has been a victim of terrorist attacks since 1980. If international organisations, such as the UN wants to remain impartial and effective, they must declare that Iran is a victim of terrorism and also cooperate with Iran to bring the preparators to justice.