Iran Has Right to Respond to US Withdrawal from JCPOA: Russian Envoy

Russian envoy to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said that Iran has a legitimate right to respond to the violation of UN Charter and Resolution 2231 by the United States.

Iran has a legitimate right to respond reciprocally to US violations of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 adopted in support of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said at the UN Security Council session on Thursday, the Tass news agency reported.

"One should not demand from Iran the unconditional implementation of those UNSC decisions that the US has undermined itself," Nebenzya said. "Iran has a legitimate right, envisaged by the JCPOA Article 36, to respond reciprocally to the violation of the UN Charter and Resolution 2231 by the United States," he added.

"Moreover, Iran's steps on rolling down their voluntary commitments are carried out with notifying the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] and under the supervision of the agency's inspectors," he noted. The Russian envoy stressed that "all these measures can be reversed under a very logical condition — fulfilling commitments under the JCPOA and the UN Charter."

Last month, Iran took the 4th step in reducing its commitments under the JCPOA in reaction to the continued failure of the European parties to meet their obligations to the agreement.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA.

Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, but the three EU parties to the deal (France, Britain, and Germany) have failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.

The EU’s inaction forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments to the nuclear deal, including a rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.

Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the JCPOA but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.