Despite appeals to all those involved in the stalled deal to
ensure Iran does not develop nuclear weapons, “diplomatic efforts
remain at a standstill”, the UN’s political affairs chief told
the Security Council on Monday.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA) agreed in 2015 lays out the rules for
monitoring Iran’s domestic nuclear programme and paved the way
for US sanctions to be lifted. It was agreed by Iran, the five
permanent members of the Council (China, France, Russia the
United Kingdom and the United States) plus Germany together with
the European Union.
The US left the deal in 2018 under former President Donald Trump.
The Security Council laid
out the lifting of sanctions in its 2015 resolution 2231.
UN Political Affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said the lack of any
diplomatic movement was despite “repeated calls on all parties
concerned to renew dialogue and engagement aimed at a return to
the full and effective implementation of the Plan and
resolution”.
Still 'best option'
Nonetheless, she added, “the Secretary-General still considers
that the JCPOA represents the best available
option to ensure that the Iranian nuclear programme
remains exclusively peaceful.”
She said it was essential for Iran to now reverse steps taken
since the deal fell apart “that are not consistent with its
nuclear related commitments under the Plan and which it has
pledged are reversible.”
UN chief António Guterres has underscored that the US will also
need to lift or waive its sanctions and extend waivers regarding
the trade in oil with Iran, for the deal to resume.
Verification and monitoring of the JCPOA by the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been “seriously affected by
Iran’s cessation of its nuclear-related commitments under the
JCPOA”, she said, quoting its latest report.
Uranium stockpile
“The Agency is still unable to verify the stockpile of enriched
uranium in the country”, she added, saying that Iran maintains a
stockpile of enriched uranium more than 20 times the limit set by
the JCPOA.
Restrictive measures on missile activities and transfers by Iran
expired on 18 October this year and numerous countries have
reported alleged breaches of nuclear-related restrictions related
to the JCPOA.
Ms. DiCarlo went through each case, including ballistic missile
related provisions and the use of missiles and drones
manufactured or manufactured in part by Iran, in Ukraine, by
Russian forces.
She said examining a cruise missile used in a Houthi rebel attack
in Yemen in November last year, “we observed numerous
similarities relating to design, configuration, dimensions,
manufacturers and part numbering between the debris seen in Yemen
and previously examined components of cruise missiles used in
prior Houthi attacks” on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,
as well as with cruise missile components seized by the US and
the UK.
“The Secretariat assessed that the cruise missile used in the
November 2022 attack was also of Iranian origin
and may have been transferred in a
manner inconsistent with resolution 2231.”
She cited other instances where missile parts appeared to be in
breach of the resolution, and added that they had also received
letters concerning drones allegedly transferred from Iran to
Russia for use in Ukraine, although the ambassadors for the two
nations “dismissed the evidence presented by the United States
and Ukraine as ‘utterly fabricated’ and disputed any violation of
resolution 2231.”
Hopes ‘greatly diminished’
Ms. DiCarlo said the adoption of the JCPOA “just over eight years
ago was rightly and universally hailed as a historic
breakthrough. Today, the hope the deal engendered
has greatly diminished.”
She pledged the UN would “continue to urge the participants to
exercise maximum restraint and to exhaust all available
diplomatic avenues to restore the Plan. Indeed, the participants
are responsible for its fate.”
She said its success or failure, “especially at this
extremely dangerous juncture in global peace and security –
matters to all of us.”
Iran nuclear deal: a summary
-
What is the Iran nuclear deal? The 2015
“Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” (JCPOA), sets out rules
for monitoring Iran’s
nuclear programme, and paves the way for the lifting of UN
sanctions.
-
Which countries are involved? Iran, the
five members of the Security Council (China, France, Russia,
UK, US), plus Germany, together with the European Union.
-
What is the UN’s involvement? A UN
Security Council resolution to
ensure the enforcement of the JCPOA, and guarantee that the
UN’s atomic energy agency, the IAEA, continues to
have regular access to and more information on Iran’s nuclear
programme, was adopted in 2015.
-
Why is the deal at risk? The Trump
Administration pulled out of the deal in 2018 and re-imposed
sanctions. In July 2019, Iran reportedly breached its uranium
stockpile limit, and announced its intention to
continue enriching uranium,
posing a more serious proliferation risk.
