TEHRAN — Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has warned of the Islamic Republic’s proportional action against Washington’s bid to reimpose the UN sanctions on Iran that were lifted under the Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“Depending on the extent to which the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and Resolution 2231 are threatened, Tehran’s actions will be commensurate with what is happening to JCPOA and Resolution 2231,” Majid Takht-Ravanchi said in an interview with the Washington Arms Control Association on Friday, Iran Press reported.
Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran was discussing the development of the Arak nuclear facility with its partners.
“If Iran fails to develop this part of the nuclear facility, it will return to its original design, which is an indigenous construction,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday officially informed the UN Security Council it is demanding the restoration of all UN sanctions on Iran, insisting that the U.S. has the legal right to “snap back” UN sanctions even though U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal endorsed by the Security Council Resolution 2231.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said the U.S. has no right to abuse mechanisms enshrined in the JCPOA to restore UN sanctions after they were lifted under the accord.
He said 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.
Earlier, France, the UK, and Germany - three signatories to the JCPOA - released a joint statement telling the U.S. that it could not use “snapback” measures against Iran as it is no longer part of the nuclear deal.
“France, Germany, and the United Kingdom note that the U.S. ceased to be a participant to the JCPOA following their withdrawal from the deal on May 8, 2018,” the statement said. “We cannot, therefore, support this action which is incompatible with our current efforts to support the JCPOA.”
In response, Pompeo on Thursday accused the three European countries of “siding with the ayatollahs”, claiming that “their actions endanger the people of Iraq, of Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and indeed their own citizens as well.”
JCPOA Joint Commission to meet on Sept. 1
On Friday, the official website of the European Union reported that a meeting of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA will take place in Vienna on September 1.
The Joint Commission will be chaired on behalf of EU High Representative Josep Borrell by EEAS Secretary General Helga Schmid and will be attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran, it added.
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