Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic have condemned the politicization of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) amid ongoing allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria.

Majid Takht Ravanchi, the Iranian ambassador to the UN, addressed a meeting of the UN Security Council on 10 March on the subject of alleged chemical weapons use in Syria and the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

Ravanchi said that politicizing the implementation of the CWC and exploiting the OPCW for politically driven national goals would be detrimental for the authority and credibility of both the CWC and the OPCW.

“We renew our call for complete, effective, and non-discriminatory implementation of the Convention, as well as the preservation of the OPCW’s authority,” the Iranian official went on to add.

Ravanchi noted that the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra, had used chemical weapons in the past in order to place the blame on the Syrian government.

Qusay al-Dahhak, the Syrian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, echoed such concerns, noting that Syria voluntarily destroyed its remaining chemical weapons stockpiles on 14 October 2013, joining the CWC.

Mint Press News reported in early 2019 that mainstream media outlets had finally confirmed what alternative media journalists had previously revealed, which is that the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma on 7 April 2018 were entirely staged.

James Harkin – a reporter for the Guardian, Harper’s, and Financial Times – visited Douma and confirmed that no sarin gas had been used, and that the scenes from the hospital, considered as evidence for the atrocity, were staged.

BBC producer Riam Dalati also cast doubt onto the official narrative surrounding the alleged events in Douma, after a six month investigation.

Robert Fisk, journalist for The Independent, also visited Douma and became one of the first mainstream journalists to question the OPCW narrative regarding the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government.

Despite many journalists challenging the official Douma narrative using evidence obtained on the ground, accusations against the Syrian government by international organizations have continued.