Iran's ambassador to the United Nations has urged the international community to confront US attempts to undermine the 2015 nuclear deal, which is enshrined in a UN resolution.
"The international community should not allow the United States to continue to undermine the JCPOA," Gholamali Khoshroo said on Tuesday in an address to a meeting of the UN Security Council on the implementation of Resolution 2231.
JCPOA refers to the formal name of the accord, namely the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It was the outcome of two years of negotiations with the six major powers to give Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for scaling back its nuclear work.
The landmark agreement, however, is facing the hostile stance of US President Donald Trump, who has blamed his predecessor Barack Obama for failing to drive a harder bargain with Iran during the nuclear talks and to rein in its missile program and regional role.
He announced on Oct. 13 that he would no longer certify Iran's compliance with the accord, giving the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose Iran sanctions.
But the congress let the Dec. 12 deadline pass, leaving Trump with a mid-January deadline to extend the sanction waivers. His withdrawal to renew the waivers could effectively kill the deal.
***Unprecedented Risk
Khoshroo noted that the decision by the US president regarding the JCPOA, announced on October 13, coupled with introduction of a set of new sanctions and irresponsible rhetoric in violation of its commitments under the JCPOA, pose an unprecedented risk to this important diplomatic achievement, according to a transcript of his remarks carried by IRNA.
US ambassador to the world body, Nikki Haley, asked other members of the Security Council in the Tuesday session to punish Iran for what the Trump administration calls its "dangerous violations" of UN resolutions and "destabilizing behavior", while Russia said dialogue is needed rather than threats or sanctions.
She said in the coming days, the US will explore a number of options with council members to pressure the Iranians "to adjust their behavior", AP reported.
Haley said the council could strengthen the resolution, adopt a new one to prohibit all Iranian ballistic missile activity, explore sanctions in response to the alleged "violation of the Yemen arms embargo", and hold Tehran accountable for supposedly violating numerous council resolutions.
The envoy, however, vowed that Washington "continues to uphold its commitments" under the nuclear agreement.
But Russia's deputy UN ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov, said what is needed to implement the resolution on the nuclear deal is "to abandon the language of threats and sanctions, and to start using the instruments of dialogue and concentrate on broadening cooperation and mutual trust".
UN Undersecretary-General Jeffrey Feltman questioned the credibility of Trump's October announcement, citing the nine reports that the International Atomic Energy Agency has released so far, all confirming that Iran is adhering to its nuclear-related obligations.
"This decision has regrettably created considerable uncertainty about the future of the JCPOA," he said.
"Today's meeting is an important opportunity to reflect carefully on what has been achieved and the challenges that lie ahead," Feltman added.
EU's representative, Joanne Adamson, also criticized Trump's decision for creating uncertainty over the fate of the international accord.
"As we approach the second anniversary of the JCPOA's implementation day, January 16, 2016, I believe it is correct to say that we are at a critical moment … We respect [Trump's announcement] as having taking place in the context of US domestic legislation, but it has created uncertainty regarding the United States' continuing commitment to the JCPOA," Adamson told the council.
"In its reactions to this announcement, the EU stressed that it expects full and effective implementation of the agreement by all sides."
