“The agreement is in the interest of the global non‑proliferation regime and of regional and global security”, Jeffrey Feltman, Under‑Secretary‑General for Political Affairs, said in a briefing on the implementation of resolution 2231 (2015), which endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear program.
Mr. Feltman introduced the Secretary‑General’s latest report on the topic (document S/2017/1030), which affirmed “diplomatic achievement, compliance and robust verification” under the plan, but said that the recent decision of the President of the United States not to certify the agreement had “regrettably created considerable uncertainty regarding the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action”.
As a national executive action, the United States move did not, at present, affect the validity of the agreement, however, according to the report. “I am reassured that the United States has expressed its commitment to stay in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for now,” the Secretary‑General stated in the report.
On Iran’s compliance, Mr. Feltman noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had reported nine times that Iran was continuing to adhere to its nuclear‑related commitments. In addition, there were again no reports of supply, sale or transfer to Iran of nuclear‑related items undertaken contrary to the resolution’s provisions.
Speaking at the same UN Security Council meeting on implementing Resolution 2231, adopted in support of the nuclear deal with Iran, Russia’s deputy UN envoy, Vladimir Safronkov, said the UN Secretariat has no authority to investigate claims of purported Iranian arms supplies to Yemeni rebels, voiced recently by the United States and other countries.
"Measures of this kind, taken without prior approval by the UN Security Council, are illegitimate, and information obtained as a result cannot be viewed as credible and must not be included into a report," Safronkov said.
He also stressed that UN Secretary General Antonio Gutterres’ report on resolution 2234 "must not contain any information from open-access sources, as well references to unchecked or inherently unverifiable data, provided by separate nations."
"Information of this kind must be forwarded to the UN SC, which is authorized to decide on further steps, including to order an investigation. Unilateral steps in this direction cannot be viewed as legitimate," the Russian diplomat said.
Also at the session, the French envoy, François Delattre, said the Security Council had worked with the international community to promote peace and security, with a non‑proliferation architecture based on solid international instruments, of which the Non‑Proliferation Treaty was a cornerstone.
“The Joint Plan of Action was a robust reaction to a proliferation crisis and guaranteed that the Iranian nuclear programme would not be diverted to military ends,” he continued.
“However, the decision of the United States not to certify had not changed the current situation. The Joint Plan of Action must be implemented, he said, adding that the decision by the United States had created an alarming uncertainty, as mentioned in the Secretary‑General’s report.”
Delattre stressed that all parties to the agreement must abide by it, as respecting commitments was a cardinal element of international relations.
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