Iran Urges Commitment to JCPOA, Condemnation of US Measures
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – In a letter to his foreign counterparts, foreign minister of Iran called for international condemnation of the US illegal measures and its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and for efforts to keep implementing the nuclear deal and the UNSC resolution 2231.
In line with the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s international negotiations on the US administration’s illegal and unilateral moves, including its withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a letter to his foreign counterparts, elaborating on the dangerous repercussions of the US withdrawal from the deal.
The top Iranian diplomat urged his counterparts to condemn Washington’s excessive demands and illegal measures and to remain committed to their pledges under the nuclear deal as well as the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.
In his letter, Zarif also described the US withdrawal from the JCPOA as the climax of Washington’s previous attempts to violate and undermine the Iran nuclear deal and the UNSC resolution, IFP reported.
As in any other international treaty, all parties to the JCPOA must live up to their promises and mutual duties, he underscored, saying the scope, regulations and time frame of the deal have been set after precise, sensitive and balanced multilateral negotiations.
Therefore, Zarif added, it would be impossible to make changes to the deal or renegotiate it.
The minister also noted that the Iranian nation’s benefits from the nuclear deal should not be subject to any conditions other than the voluntary measures linked to the nuclear issue – which have been specifically and exclusively mentioned in the JCPOA and its appendices.
The US illegitimate withdrawal from the JCPOA and its bullying behavior to make the other states side with it are in violation of the principles of keeping promises and the rule of law, he deplored, noting that such conducts also discredit the international law and challenge the goals and principles of the UN charter as well as the efficiency of the international bodies.
The JCPOA put an end to an unnecessary crisis which lasted for over a decade, Zarif said, stressing that the nuclear deal was attached to and endorsed by the UNSC Resolution 2231.
“This means that the JCPOA does not belong only to its signatories, and thus the administration of one side cannot violate it irresponsibly and arbitrarily based on its domestic policies or political divisions with its predecessors,” he noted.
Zarif then stressed that despite Washington’s repeated violations and incomplete implementation of the nuclear deal since its early days, the Islamic Republic of Iran has remained completely committed to the JCPOA.
“If the Iran nuclear deal is to be preserved, the remaining sides as well as other business partners should assure us that all damages inflicted on Iran because of the US pullout will be compensated unconditionally through national, regional and global measures,” the minister added.
He further emphasized that Iran has decided, with goodwill, to take steps to find the appropriate solution within the framework of the JCPOA, and discuss the possibility and the ways in which the parties to the nuclear agreement and the other business partners could guarantee the Iranian nation will fully enjoy the benefits of the nuclear agreement.
But if, after applying the existing solutions, the rights and benefits of the Iranian people are not protected, Iran, as mentioned in the JCPOA and the UNSC Resolution 2231, has the right to take appropriate measures in response to repeated and unlawful acts of the United States, in particular its withdrawal from the nuclear deal and its re-imposition of all unilateral sanctions against Iran, he added.
Slamming US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent threat of unprecedented US sanctions against Iran, Zarif said such statements are in violation of the JCPOA, the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, the rules of international law, and of the US commitments under the 1981 Algeria Declaration.
“In this Declaration, the United States has pledged to refrain from intervening in Iran’s internal affairs,” he added.
The Iranian minister finally noted that each member of the international community is required to stand up to the US violation of law, bullying and disregard for the rule of law.
The United States should not be allowed to threaten other countries or go against the contents of the Security Council resolution, Zarif said.
“The US cannot force other countries to violate a resolution issued under the Article 25 of the United Nations Charter.”
This article requires all states to “take appropriate measures to support the implementation of the JCPOA, including taking action in line with the implementation of the JCPOA and this resolution, as well as avoiding actions that undermine the fulfilment of the JCPOA-bound obligations,” Zarif concluded.
On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties have launched talks to save the accord.
Meanwhile, Ayatollah Khamenei has underlined that any decision to keep the JCPOA running without the US should be conditional on “practical guarantees” from the Europeans.
