NEW YORK (Dispatches) -- Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has provided the UN chief with the Encyclopedia of 23,323 Iranian victims of terrorism, saying the country has been a pioneer in the fight against terrorism and also a primary victim of it since the 1979 Revolution.
In a letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres and President of the UN Security Council Amar Bendjama, Saeed Iravani said Iran has endured relentless acts of terror, subversion, and aggression orchestrated by the terrorist groups and supported by external actors since 1979.
“This comprehensive compilation underscores that the Islamic Republic of Iran is not only a pioneer in the fight against terrorism but also a nation that has paid a heavy price as one of its primary victims since the 1979 Revolution. 
“From the very beginning of the revolution, the Islamic Republic of Iran has endured relentless acts of terror, subversion, and aggression orchestrated by terrorist groups and supported by external actors,” he said. 
Approximately 23,000 innocent Iranians, including women and children, have lost their lives to heinous acts, which targeted civilians indiscriminately and flagrantly violated international law, including human rights law and norms, Iravani said.
Over four decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has faced terrorist attacks of unprecedented magnitude.
They have included the emergence of foreign-backed terrorist groups along border cities of Iran, systematic assassinations of nuclear scientists by agents of the Zionist regime and assassinations of high-ranking officials and ordinary citizens by the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO).
Incursions by trans-regional takfiri groups like Daesh into Iran’s security domain and assassinations of Iran’s military advisors playing a crucial role in combating international terrorism in West Asia have been other cases.
More than 4,000 Iranian law enforcement officers martyred in countering narcotics underscores the sacrifices made by a leading nation in combating this global scourge, Iravani said.
The attacks reflect a deliberate strategy to weaponize terrorism for political gains, he said. 
More than 30 terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda, Daesh, MKO, Komala, PJAK, Jaish al-Adi, and Jundallah have been implicated in these heinous crimes, often receiving financial, logistical, and political support from external powers. 
Among the most egregious examples of this campaign are the systematic assassinations of government officials, scientists, and civilians, carried out with tacit support from external actors. 
“These sustained acts of aggression and terrorism constitute crimes against the Iranian people and a blatant violation of the principles enshrined in the United Nations