Zarif: US has no right to abuse JCPOA mechanisms to restore Iran sanctions

Iran’s foreign minister says the United States has no right to abuse mechanisms enshrined in a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers to restore UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic after they were lifted under the accord.

Mohammad Javad Zarif made the remarks in a Thursday letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, saying that the dangerous and unlawful position of the United States defies the established norms of international law and procedures, which have been put in place through centuries to safeguard the world from chaos.

As part of an illegal underway push, the United States is trying to invoke a “snapback” mechanism in the nuclear deal that was made between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of states -- the US, the UK, France, Russia, and China plus Germany -- in Vienna in July 2015.

The US left the accord, which is officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018. The move, by extension, violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorses the JCPOA.

Although by leaving the JCPOA the United States forfeited all of its rights under the nuclear deal, it launched a bid earlier this year to prevent expiry of an arms embargo against Iran that will expire in October under the accord.

A US-devised resolution to prolong the embargo was, nevertheless, recently defeated at the Security Council, prompting Washington to threaten to try and trigger the JCPOA mechanism that would restore all of the UNSC sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

UN Security Council rejects US resolution to extend Iran arms embargo

The United Nations Security Council has rejected a US resolution to extend an arms embargo on Iran that is due to expire in October.

Tehran has warned Washington that it would again be snubbed at the world body if it sought recourse to the mechanism.

Also on Thursday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to meet with Indonesia's UN Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, who is also the Security Council’s president for August, to submit a complaint about what Washington alleges as Iran's non-compliance with the nuclear deal. Pompeo’s meeting will be an extension of the United States’ efforts to reinstate the UN sanctions against Iran.

The top US diplomat has, meanwhile, threatened Russia and China with sanctions if they chose to stonewall Washington’s drive as they did in the case of the push to prolong the arms ban.

The Iranian foreign minister’s letter underlined that given the baseless and illegal nature of the United States’ bid, it has to be “rejected on the part of the Security Council and the international community.”

He reminded the absence of “all ‘credibility or legitimacy’” in the US' apparent justifications aimed at rationalizing its efforts to restore previously annulled resolutions against Tehran, as yet another reason why Washington has to be snubbed by the Security Council.

In order to lend a plausible aspect to its most recent bout of anti-Iran efforts, whether when it was trying to extend the arms embargo or now that it has the snapback module on target, Washington has falsely alleged that it is still “mentioned” as a JCPOA member in Resolution 2231.

“It is imperative that the international community be wary of such [attempts at] abusing the Security Council’s mechanisms,” the letter added.

“Iran advises the Council to stop this abuse of mechanism -- which carries serious repercussions for the international peace and security,” it noted.

Iran’s UN envoy: US will be humiliated again if it tries to snap back Iran sanctions

Iran’s UN ambassador says if the US tries to use the JCPOA

Zarif added that the US administration has not only shunned its commitments under the JCPOA, but also prevented other signatories to the deal to implement it.

He said since Donald Trump became the US president, he has imposed sanctions on Iran in more than 145 occasions and has also ignored frequent requests from the UN secretary general to lift these embargoes.

Iran’s foreign minister concluded by saying that the Iranian nation rightfully expect the Security Council to guarantee their rights as per Security Council Resolution 2231, which upholds the contents of the nuclear deal, and hold the United States accountable for the irreparable damage it has done to the Iranian nation.

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