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Russian UN envoy says surprised at UN overlooking US’ violation of resolution on Iran

Nebenzya also added that the United Nations Secretary General’s report that was published on Wednesday clearly indicates that Iran is committed to its liabilities under the nuclear deal
Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya Alexander Scherbak/TASS
Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya
© Alexander Scherbak/TASS

UNITED NATIONS, June 28. /TASS/. Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said on Wednesday he is surprised that the organization has overlooked Washington’s violation of its resolution on the Iran nuclear deal.

"Bearing in mind the importance for the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) of the United States’ unilateral actions, we were utterly surprised that this situation is tackled in the report only in passing. It is absolutely incomprehensible how a report on the implementation of Resolution 2231 can be drawn without even mentioning the fact that Washington’s re-imposing unilateral sanctions is a flagrant violation of not only its liabilities under the JCPOA but also Resolution 2231," he told the UN Security Council.

At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that the United Nations Secretary General’s report that was published on Wednesday clearly indicates that Iran is committed to its liabilities under the nuclear deal.

"The Secretary General’s report clearly says that Iran is unconditionally fulfilling its obligations under the JCPOA, which has been attested not only by the IAEA but also by the United Nations Secretariat, which, according to the document, has no evidence to the contrary," he said.

According to the Russian diplomat, not a single example of Iran’s alleged violation of Resolution 2231 cited in the document is proved by convincing evidence. "Once again, we have to stress that the UN Secretariat cannot conduct any investigations without a clear Security Council mandate for that," he noted.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the deal on Iran’s nuclear program, was signed between Iran and six international mediators (the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, the United States, and France) on July 14, 2015. On January 16, 2016, the parties to the deal announced beginning of its implementation. Under the deal, Iran undertakes to curb its nuclear activities and place them under total control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in exchange of abandonment of the sanctions imposed previously by the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and the United States over its nuclear program.

On May 8, US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal as it, in his words, leaves Iran a possibility to create a nuclear bomb bypassing all the restrictions. He promised to reinstate the former anti-Iranian sanctions and impose tighter ones. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated his country’s commitment to the deal, saying Teheran will continue to implement its liabilities. He called on the European Union to guarantee observance of its interests to keep the deal in place.