UNSC Meeting on JCPOA Shows Growing US Isolation: Iran’s Envoy

“The meeting of the Security Council today was a demonstration of the United States isolation with regard to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and highlighted once again the international community's full support for diplomacy and multilateralism over unilateralism and pressure,” Khoshroo said in a statement on Wednesday after the meeting.

He added, “Unlike the Islamic Republic of Iran, which continues to fulfil its undertakings under the JCPOA, as repeatedly and consistently verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United States has consistently failed – since “implementation day”, and particularly after the assumption of office by President Trump – to abide by its commitments under the JCPOA.

“The unilateral and unlawful US act of unwarranted withdrawal from the JCPOA renders it responsible for the most blatant material breach of its obligations under the agreement and brazen non-compliance with the Security Council resolution 2231 (2015). The United States must, therefore, be held accountable for the consequences of its reckless and wrongful act, which flies in the face of the United Nations Charter and the principles of international law. All member states, international organizations and especially other JCPOA participants must remain cognizant of their shared responsibility to safeguard the agreement.”

“There shall be no doubt that if, after the exhaustion of available remedies, rights and benefits of the Iranian people are not fully guaranteed, it is Iran’s unquestionable right – recognized also under the JCPOA and Security Council resolution 2231 (2015)  – to take appropriate actions and to treat the re-imposition of nuclear-related sanctions by the United States ‘as grounds to cease performing its commitments under the JCPOA in whole or in part’,” Khoshroo concluded.

The Council was convening for the first time since the US’s withdrawal to discuss the JCPOA’s implementation and its future.

During the meeting, all council members except the United States expressed support for the continuation of the nuclear deal with its remaining members – Iran, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany, and blasted Washington’s pullout.

Francois Delattre, France’s UN ambassador, said his country will continue to honor its commitments in the Iran nuclear deal as long as Iran does so.

Germany’s Ambassador Christoph Heusgen told the council, “We also believe that leaving the JCPOA undermines effective multilateralism. It undermines the rules-based international order — of which the nuclear non-proliferation regime is a very important pillar.”

EU Ambassador Joao Vale de Almeida also told the meeting that “the preservation of the JCPOA is a key security interest for the European Union, but also for the international community as a whole.”

“Undoubtedly, it (JCPOA) remains a standard of a multilateral nuclear nonproliferation agreement which other initiatives still have to live up to,” he added.