Iran: US to blame for JCPOA status quo
‘Nuclear states believe NPT binding solely for others’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian blamed the US policies and miscalculations for the status quo of the Iran nuclear deal.
Addressing the High Level Segment of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Tuesday, the top Iranian diplomat said it is possible to take the final steps on the revival of the nuclear agreement through the determination of all parties and within the framework of the negotiations held until now.
Iran proved the peaceful nature of its nuclear program to the world by signing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany. However, Washington’s unilateral withdrawal in May 2018 and its subsequent re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran left the future of the deal in limbo.
Negotiations between the parties to the deal kicked off in Vienna in April 2021, with the intention of bringing the US back into the deal and putting an end to its “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.
The discussions, however, have been at a standstill since August 2022 due to Washington’s insistence on not lifting all of the anti-Iranian sanctions and offering the necessary guarantees that it will not exit the agreement again.
“Our past experience taught us to become engaged in the new round of negotiations with more care and sensitivity. The few remaining issues could be addressed easily,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
Iran’s nuclear program is fully peaceful and Tehran is determined, as confirmed till now, to remain fully committed to its obligations under the comprehensive safeguards agreement.
Global disarmament
He also pointed to the global disarmament, saying that taking concrete measures for global disarmament is a fundamental necessity.
The Iranian official said that without taking concrete steps toward the elimination of the weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear arms, strengthening international and regional peace and security would not be realistic.
He also expressed regret over the nuclear states’ non-compliance with their disarmament obligations.
“Despite their unequivocal legal obligations, the nuclear weapon states, have continued the expansion of their nuclear weapons. Regrettably, nuclear weapon states, instead of honoring their disarmament obligations, they have developed and produced new generations and modernize their nuclear arsenals, that have undermined NPT and threatening international peace and security,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
He stressed that the main problem is that some nuclear countries believe that Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is binding solely for non-nuclear weapon states and not for themselves.