Iran's UN ambassador denounced the US threat to pull out of the two-year-old Iran nuclear agreement and called on the community of nations to help stave off the emergence of what he called a "withdrawal doctrine".
US President Donald Trump announced in a controversial, rhetoric-laden speech last week that his administration has found Iran non-compliant with the nuclear deal, in defiance of several reports of the UN nuclear agency that have repeatedly assessed the Islamic Republic to be in full compliance.
Trump's decision kicks the deal in the US Congress court, which has 60 days to decide whether to reinstate sanctions suspended under the pact in return for time-bound restrictions on Tehran's nuclear development.
The move has met with the unanimous objections of Washington's European allies, particularly US partners in the deal, namely Germany, France and Britain.
In his speech, Trump threatened the UN-endorsed deal "will be terminated" if congress and allied nations fail to reach an agreement.
Addressing the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly on nuclear weapons earlier this week, Gholamali Khoshroo said, "The international community should not allow the US administration to continue to mock and undermine JCPOA, which would, in turn, undermine the non-proliferation regime as a whole. Otherwise, after each and every election in any corner of the world, we should expect the undoing of all decisions and commitments of previous administrations. This may provide tactical and shortsighted advantages, but will inflict long-term and strategic liability".
Khoshroo was using the official name of the pact, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
"It means, duration of agreements will shrink to the duration of administrations; sanctity of international instruments will have no place between states; and the withdrawal doctrine will be a dominant factor in international relations. Therefore, we have a collective responsibility in countering such an alarming trend," he concluded.
Trump has already gained a notorious reputation for disavowing high-profile international agreements, including the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and the Paris climate agreement.
His administration also announced last week that it plans to quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, citing the world body's "anti-Israel bias".
