Urging world powers and Iran to move quickly to reestablish a 2015 agreement that removed sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limitations on its nuclear program, a senior UN official warned Tuesday that its “success or failure matters to all of us.”
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is the agreement Iran has with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany, and France. During Donald Trump’s first term as president, the US withdrew from the agreement in 2018, and Iran started to back out of its nuclear-related obligations under it.
“The United States has made it clear that a nuclear Iran is not an option, even though diplomacy is the best course of action. To guarantee that result, we are ready to employ every aspect of our national power,” US Ambassador Robert Wood, a deputy, informed the council.
Before Trump returns to the White House in January for a second four-year term, European and Iranian diplomats met late last month to discuss whether they can try to defuse regional tensions, including those related to Tehran’s nuclear program.
Rosemary DiCarlo, the head of UN political affairs, informed the Security Council, which ratified the agreement in a resolution in 2015.
“Even though the US and the JCPOA participants bear the burden, their success or failure affects us all.” The area cannot afford any more unrest.
In a letter earlier this month, Britain, France, and Germany informed the Security Council that they are prepared to “snap back” all international sanctions on Iran in order to stop the country from developing a nuclear weapon, if necessary.
When the 2015 UN resolution on the agreement expires on October 18 of next year, they will no longer be able to take such action.
British deputy UN Ambassador James Kariuki told the council on Tuesday, “We will take every diplomatic step to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, including the triggering of snapback if necessary.”
Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, informed the council that targeting Tehran with the “snap back” of sanctions would be “unlawful and counterproductive.”
“The so-called snapback is not a weapon that you should misuse to intimidate Iran. Iran has made it clear that they will respond to such provocative actions with strength and appropriateness, he said.
This month, Iran is “dramatically” speeding up uranium enrichment to up to 60% purity, which is near the 90% level that is considered weapons grade, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog.
Western nations claim that no other nation has enriched uranium to this degree without creating nuclear weapons and that there is no need to do so under any civilian program. Iran claims its nuclear program is peaceful and denies pursuing nuclear weapons.
The IAEA is “unable to assure the international community of the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program,” DiCarlo told the Security Council.
