Iran joined more than 60 countries on Saturday in signing the United Nations Convention on Cybercrime, an international agreement designed to enhance collective efforts against digital crimes such as online fraud and money laundering. The signing ceremony took place in Hanoi, Vietnam.

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Vahid Jalalzadeh, Iran’s Deputy Minister for Consular, Parliamentary, and Expatriate Affairs, announced on X that he represented Tehran during the signing. “Hanoi was today witness to global determination to confront unilateralism in the fight against cybercrime,” he said.

Jalalzadeh noted that Iran had been actively involved in shaping the treaty. “The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a responsible member of the international community, has played a constructive role in drafting this convention over the past four years,” he added.

The UN convention establishes a comprehensive legal framework for investigating and prosecuting cybercrimes at the international level. It also underscores the importance of technical assistance, capacity building, and technology transfer to strengthen prevention, detection, and judicial cooperation among states.

Adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2024, the treaty represents the first legally binding global instrument on cybercrime and concludes five years of negotiation.

At the time of adoption, Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), described the agreement as “a great victory for multilateralism, as it represents the first international treaty against crime in 20 years.”

The convention will enter into force once ratified by the states that signed it in Vietnam.

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