US Bid to Rejoin JCPOA Has No Legal Basis, Says Iranian Envoy
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s ambassador to Vienna-based international organizations dismissed the US’ illegitimate plan to become a participant of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal again, noting that Washington formally scrapped the JCPOA in 2018.
In remarks on Saturday, Kazem Gharibabadi said the US government’s push to once again participate in the JCPOA has no legal basis, since it has already withdrawn from the nuclear accord officially.
US President Donald Trump formally ceased the US participation in the JCPOA in May 2018 with an executive order, asserting, “… and I am today making good on my pledge to end the participation of the United States in the JCPOA,” the Iranian envoy added.
Moreover, Gharibabadi said, the US has ended its practical participation in the JCPOA as well and has not taken part in any of the JCPOA meetings after its unilateral withdrawal from the agreement.
“The US has also violated all of its commitments as a JCPOA participant and spared no effort to undermine it by re-imposing sanctions and threatening the other countries with punishment in case of trade with Iran,” the Iranian diplomat added.
His comments came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was preparing a legal argument that the US would remain a participant in the JCPOA –already renounced by the US president- as part of an intricate strategy to pressure the UN Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Tehran.
According to Pompeo’s plan, bound to be opposed by many of Washington’s European allies, the US would, in essence, claim it legally remains a “participant state” in the nuclear accord only for the purposes of invoking a “snapback” that would restore the UN sanctions on Iran that were in place before the nuclear deal.