The Iranian diplomat was elected in an extraordinary general meeting of the OPCW in The Hague.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 member states, oversees the global endeavour to permanently and verifiably eliminate chemical weapons.
The organisation promotes and verifies the adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the use of chemical weapons and requires their destruction.
Verification consists both of evaluation of declarations by member states and onsite inspections.