Iran's Nuclear Issue Should Be Removed from the Security Council's Agenda

TEHRAN (Defapress) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated on Saturday, October 18, regarding the termination of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.

The statement reads: As previously stated in official positions and statements regarding the JCPOA and UN Security Council Resolution 2231 dated July 20, 2015, concerning Iran's peaceful nuclear program, the 10-year timeframe stipulated by this resolution ends on Saturday, October 18, 2025. All its provisions, including the predicted restrictions on Iran's nuclear program and related mechanisms, are considered terminated from this date.

The Three Countries and the US Violated Their Sanctions-Lifting Commitments

The statement asserts: Accordingly, the issue of Iran's nuclear program, which was on the Security Council's agenda under the title of 'non-proliferation', should be removed from the list of topics under consideration by the UN Security Council. With the expiration of Resolution 2231, Iran's nuclear program must be treated like the nuclear program of any other non-nuclear-weapon state party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The statement adds: The entire alleged purpose of placing Iran's nuclear issue on the Security Council's agenda was to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program and prevent its diversion towards weaponization. This objective has been fully achieved, as no report contradicting this fact has been issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Despite pressure from the three European countries and the US on the Agency to prove Iran's non-compliance with its safeguards obligations, no such determination has ever been made. This is while the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite accepting voluntary transparency measures under the JCPOA, was simultaneously subjected to unjust sanctions, and it was these three European countries, the European Union, and the US that violated their sanctions-lifting commitments.

The statement further adds: Resolution 2231 and its annex, the JCPOA, were a major achievement of multilateral diplomacy, which demonstrated its credibility and effectiveness in its early years. Unfortunately, the US, through its irresponsible withdrawal in 2018, and the three European countries, through their failure to fulfill their commitments, failed to appreciate this important diplomatic achievement.

The Security Council Secretariat is Not Permitted to Endorse the Illegal Move of the Three Countries

The statement states: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that the move by the three European countries party to the JCPOA (UK, France, Germany), which, without any legal basis or logical reason and merely in line with complying with US demands (as a party that unilaterally and unjustifiably withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018), to abuse the JCPOA Dispute Resolution Mechanism in an attempt to reinstate terminated UN Security Council resolutions, is illegal.

The statement adds: It notes that this move by the three European countries in no way impairs the legal arrangements contained in Resolution 2231, including its expiration date, and this resolution must be considered terminated at its stipulated time (October 18, 2025).

The statement further states: It is also emphasized that, despite the illegal move by the three European JCPOA participant countries, who themselves have, at least since the US withdrawal from the JCPOA in May 2018, persistently committed 'significant non-performance' of their own commitments and thus deprived themselves of the legal competence to resort to the JCPOA Dispute Resolution Mechanism, the UN Security Council, due to the explicit opposition of two permanent members, namely China and Russia, has not decide to reinstate the terminated resolutions.

The statement adds: Accordingly, the confrontational actions of Germany, Britain, and France, as persistent violators of the JCPOA, who, with bad faith and without observing the relevant legal procedures, sought to reinstate the terminated Security Council resolutions, must in no way be considered to have any legal or executive value or effect. The Security Council Secretariat is also not permitted to endorse and recognize this illegal move by these three countries.

Incorrect Information on the UN Website Must Be Corrected Immediately

The statement states: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, recalling once again the fact that 6 members of the Security Council, including 2 permanent members, did not agree with the illegal move of the three European countries and the US, and referring to the joint correspondence of Iran, China, and Russia in this regard with the UN Secretary-General, emphasizes that the UN Security Council has taken no decision authorizing the UN Secretariat to independently conclude that the terminated resolutions against Iran have been reinstated, and this matter falls within the exclusive competence of the UN Security Council.

The statement adds: In light of the above, the UN Secretary-General is strongly requested, in accordance with Article 100 of the UN Charter, to immediately correct the incorrect information on the UN website regarding the alleged process of reinstating terminated resolutions against Iran and prevent further confusion in the legal and procedural processes related to the functioning of the Security Council.

The Sanctions Committee and Panel of Experts are Illegal

The statement adds: Furthermore, the Islamic Republic of Iran considers the re-establishment of the Security Council's sanctions mechanisms, including the Sanctions Committee and the Panel of Experts, to be illegal and obliges the Secretariat to promptly correct the Security Council's website by removing the claim of establishing these arrangements.

The statement states: This is particularly necessary given the absolute ambiguity surrounding the philosophy and purpose of the obsolete resolutions, their validity, and their termination mechanism.

Expectations from All UN Member States

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs adds in this statement: All UN Member States are expected, considering the illegal nature of the move by the three European countries and the evident procedural flaws in their action, and the lack of any decision by the Security Council to extend Resolution 2231 or reinstate the terminated resolutions, to refrain from giving any effect to the claim of the three European countries and the US regarding the return of the terminated resolutions (including Resolutions 1696, 1737, 1747, 1803, 1835, 1929) and to consider Resolution 2231 terminated.

Condemnation of the Security Council's Failure to Act

The statement adds: The Islamic Republic of Iran, while emphasizing the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, condemns in the strongest terms the Security Council's failure to condemn the military aggression of the Israeli regime and the US against the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Iran and the attack on peaceful and safeguarded nuclear facilities. The barbaric and aggressive attacks against Iran's nuclear facilities, which occurred amidst diplomatic negotiations with the US, constituted a grave betrayal of diplomacy and a major blow to international law, including the protective mechanisms of the non-proliferation system for its members. These attacks, in addition to causing the martyrdom and injury of several thousand Iranian citizens, the destruction of thousands of residential units, and damage to Iran's peaceful nuclear infrastructure, also disrupted the process of Iran's routine cooperation with the IAEA. Iran's efforts to revive interactions, which culminated in the Cairo Understanding, were also met with obstruction due to the irresponsible and prejudiced action of the three European countries in abusing the JCPOA Dispute Resolution Mechanism.

The statement states: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran appreciates the responsible positions of China and Russia, as permanent members of the Security Council, in their consistent opposition to the three European countries' abuse of the JCPOA Dispute Resolution Mechanism. It also thanks Algeria and Pakistan, as two non-permanent members of the Council, who opposed the illegal move of the three European countries in the Security Council. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also values the decision of two other non-permanent members of the Council, South Korea and Guyana, who did not endorse the move of the three European countries.

Iran's Commitment to Diplomacy and Insistence on the Nation's Legitimate Rights

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this statement also thanked the member states of the Non-Aligned Movement, which, in the statement of the 19th Mid-Term Ministerial Conference in Kampala (Uganda), emphasized the termination of Resolution 2231 according to its paragraph 8 and the need for full adherence to its provisions and timeline, as well as the member states of the Group of Friends of the Charter in New York, who adopted a similar position.

The end of the statement reads: The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly reiterates its commitment to diplomacy while insisting on the legitimate rights and legal interests of the Iranian nation in all fields, including in the area of benefiting from peaceful nuclear energy.

The 3 European JCPOA participant countries initiated the process of activating the mechanism for the automatic snapback of UN Security Council sanctions against Iran on Shahrivar 6. After 30 days, and despite a draft resolution for the extension of Resolution 2231 being presented by Russia and China which was not adopted, ultimately in the early hours of Sunday, September 28, the 6 resolutions, 1696 (2006), 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008), 1835 (2008), and 1929 (2010), were claimed to be reinstated. An action that Iran has explicitly declared legally invalid.