December 17, 2024
Madam President,
We thank UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo, and the UN Security Council’s facilitator on the implementation of resolution 2231 and Permanent Representative of Malta Vanessa Frazier, for their briefings. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ms. Frazier and her team on successfully agreeing on the next semi-annual report of the facilitator. We thank our Maltese colleagues for their active efforts and contribution to the functioning of 2231 format over the past two years.
If anybody could learn such an objective and balanced approach from Malta then it would be the European coordinators of the JCPOA Joint Commission. Such an objective and balanced approach is something that the European coordinators of the JCPOA Joint Commission should learn from Malta. We have closely listened to the head of the EU delegation, Stavros Lambrinidis. Alas, yet again, his report cannot be called impartial, nor is it aimed at returning to the implementation of the nuclear deal. Brussels continues to abuse its powers and advance the same anti-Iranian narrative. Obviously, the goal is to play up to a small group of countries that by all means are trying to cover up their own multiple violations of resolution 2231.
The Russian Federation remains convinced of the need for full compliance with UNSCR 2231 and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Nine years ago, the parties to the Plan demonstrated that any issues and misunderstandings could be resolved if we abandon politicized agendas and adopt a pragmatic approach. The endorsement of the JCPOA made it possible to take into account the interests of all parties concerned and provided the international community with all the necessary tools so that no one had any doubts about the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.
However, time has told who really seeks constructive interaction and who only tries to advance their political and propaganda directives. The latest semi-annual report of the UN Secretary General on the implementation of resolution 2231 shows, both in form and in content, how gleam the current situation is. And all that we see now is a direct consequence of the ill-conceived policy and gross violations of this resolution by the US and the EU parties to the JCPOA.
Despite the pressure from Western countries, Secretary-General Guterres did not turn a blind eye to objective reality. In his report, he rightly noted that in the past six months, the United States has done nothing to somehow rectify its wrongdoings – first and foremost, I’m referring to the unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 and the introduction of illegal sanctions against Iran. And not just in past six months. The outgoing US administration, which came to power on a wave of promises to correct the mistakes of its predecessors, did absolutely nothing to bring the USA back into the nuclear deal. Nor has Washington demonstrated any political will to do that.
The European parties to the JCPOA – Great Britain, France and Germany – have not deviate from the path set by Washington either. Despite their declared commitment to diplomacy, they seize upon any excuse to stir up anti-Iranian “hysteria” – and doing so, they defer the prospects of reaching any negotiating solutions. They are distorting the facts over the Iranian nuclear program and presenting them from the perspective that would play into the hands of Washington and its allies, they are disseminating false or irrelevant data – and all of this has long ago become a tool for exerting so-called “maximum pressure” on Tehran.
Alas, we can’t but mention the fact that some points in the Secretary General’s report also leave room for interpretation. The report quotes very selectively from the reports of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) circulated during the reporting period. The focus is once again placed on excerpts stating that the cessation of Tehran’s good faith commitments under the JCPOA has seriously affected the IAEA’s verification and monitoring activities, and disrupted the “unbroken stream of data” on Iran’s nuclear program. Statistics provided (though taken out of context) suggest that Iran builds up its stockpiles of uranium enriched to 20 and 60 percent. As we can see from today’s meeting, the US and EU parties to the JCPOA are fixating on these data trying to use them to reprimand Tehran even further.
But will the representatives of Washington, London, Paris or Berlin say (or have they already said) why Iran has taken such steps? This is a rhetorical question. Therefore, we will say it for them – and after us, we believe, our Iranian colleagues will do so as well.
Everyone is well aware that Tehran’s actions were nothing more than a reaction to the reckless policy of the USA along with the UK, France and Germany. It is those countries that were the first to strike a blow against the JCPOA, which ultimately led to phasing down IAEA verification activities in Iran. It is those countries that took the path of neglecting their international obligations, freely interpreting the provisions of the Plan. Do I really have to recall you, for example, that by their unilateral refusal to lift the restrictions under Resolution 2231, the US and the Western parties to the nuclear deal (which became invalid in October 2023), cast a long shadow over the prospect of Majlis ratifying the Additional Protocol to the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA? And yet, the European parties to the JCPOA are hypocritically trying to rebuke Tehran for it.
We would like to recall that Iran’s “freezing” of its good will transparency measures provided for by the nuclear deal was also a reaction to the unlawful actions of the Western parties. Attempts to portray this as a violation of non-proliferation obligations are clearly intended for the lay audience and in legal terms, they are completely untenable. If Washington, London, Paris and Berlin really wanted greater transparency – which is something that Tehran was ready for and repeatedly confirmed that – they should have taken concrete steps to return to the full implementation of the nuclear deal. However, they didn’t want to do so, and instead they opted for undermining multilateral efforts aimed at reviving the JCPOA. Since the Western E3 is unwilling to move in this direction, then we have to be guided by to the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (the NPT) and the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, and Iran adheres to them in good faith.
Mr. President,
The Islamic Republic of Iran was and remains the most closely and meticulously inspected State among all IAEA members. It is from the Agency that the international community receives all information on nuclear activities in Iran. The cooperation between the IAEA and Iran continues, as clearly demonstrated by the visit of Director General Rafael Grossi to Tehran on November 14-15. The productive results of these meetings are reflected in both reports before us today – the Secretary General’s report and the report of the 2231 facilitator.
However, the US, the UK and the EU E2 are trying hard to pretend that it is not worth noticing. On the contrary, they are doing everything possible to “make null and void” the agreements between the IAEA and the Iranian leadership. You even don’t need to look far to find examples. Just look at the anti-Iranian resolution of the IAEA Board of Governors pushed through by Western countries in November. In the same vein are the two letters that the UK, France and Germany, by bad tradition, circulated in the Security Council at the very end of the work on the semi-annual reports of the Secretary General and facilitator – apparently, they did so in a desperate attempt to fill the reports with anti-Iranian passages.
By cynically flouting the agreements reached previously and citing meritless arguments, the US and European parties to the JCPOA made it clear that they are not going to uphold their obligations under resolution 2231. At the same time, they doing their utmost to shift the responsibility for the stagnation and final collapse of the nuclear deal to Tehran. We want to make it clear: the aggressive “hyping up” of imaginary threats allegedly emanating from the Iranian nuclear program will not allow to pin on Tehran the West’s miscalculations and mistakes, as well as their gross violations of resolution 2231 and the JCPOA.
Mr. President,
We are not at all surprised that some Western countries decided (by force of habit), to turn today’s meeting into yet another exercise in vilifying all countries they do not like, including the Russian Federation. They stop at nothing in their vilification campaign –they resort to retrospective accusations of violations of resolution 2231, which have already ceased to have effect, and insinuations on the Ukrainian issue that have nothing to do with the issues under discussion whatsoever. Our country has repeatedly and categorically repudiated such accusations, demonstrating the untenable nature of the arguments put forward by Western delegations. Anyone wishing to do so can familiarize themselves with our statements and the respective letters we have circulated in the Security Council.
Mr. President,
We also have to address another very serious matter. Unfortunately, fabrications (divorced from reality) about the status of Iran’s nuclear program do not suffice for some countries. Sometimes they even resort to direct threats.
We are even not referring to the irresponsible rhetoric of the UK and the E2 about their intentions to employ the snapback mechanism. The Russian Federation has already repeatedly explained that such a step would have neither political nor legal grounds. Back in 2020, we circulated in the UN Security Council an exhaustive analysis on this matter. The references by Western countries to the Dispute resolution Mechanism that they allegedly used at the Vienna forum at that time are absolutely untenable – it was never launched, given the numerous procedural violations on the part of Western colleagues. Therefore, any attempts by the Europeans go down to the “snapback” path are doomed to failure.
However, we have to deal with much more dangerous rhetoric. Judging by reports in the media, certain states do not rule out the option of using force against Iran. In particular, we have noticed recent publications in the American Wall Street Journal and the Times of Israel. It follows from them that the new US presidential administration as well as the top leadership of Israel consider it possible to deliver strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
We trust that the members of the Security Council and the international community will send a firm and unambiguous message to the US and Israeli hawks. Military strikes against Iranian territory, including on nuclear and energy infrastructure located there, are unacceptable. Besides the fact that such actions are unlikely to bring success, they also spell disaster for the entire world, as the consequences will be more than grave, including radiological and humanitarian ones. I think it is clear to everyone how this will impact the already dire situation in the Middle East. Therefore, even attempts to speculate on this subject, let alone undertaking concrete action, are irresponsible and immoral.
Mr. President,
Nine years ago, the international community categorically rejected military and force-based approaches, making an unequivocal choice in favor of diplomacy. And we are happy to see that the UN Secretary-General has consistently supported a similar position, urging to find a solution that would be multilateral in nature. Thus, we are convinced that the position of the three members of the Security Council should not shake the conviction of the overwhelming majority of our colleagues that a constructive approach is needed to resolve the issues surrounding the JCPOA. We trust that all key players will demonstrate the necessary political will to do so, keeping in mind that Security Council resolution 2231 is in effect until October 2025.
Thank you.