On Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced the intention of European member states of the JCPOA to submit a critical resolution to the IAEA on Iran.
Reiterating the need for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors to take responsibility for helping maintain and revitalize the JCPOA, Mikhail Ulyanov in a series of tweets wrote, "#IAEA Governors at their on-going session face a great challenge. They really can contribute to strengthening the global non-proliferation regime and restoration of #JCPOA. They also can decide not to oppose highly risky political experiments. The Governors have to make a choice."
The Russian diplomat then described the European Troika's decision to issue a resolution against Iran as hasty, saying, "I can sympathise with my fellow #IAEA colleagues who have to decide how to address #Iran during the on-going BoG session. Our advise: if you are not ready to be associated with a possible international crisis, let’s refrain from hasty actions. Let’s give a chance for diplomacy."
"When I say “a highly risky political experiment” I mean the adoption of a stupid resolution which can undermine the prospects for a restoration of #JCPOA exactly at the moment when this task becomes very much feasible," he added.
E3 countries seek to pass a US-backed anti-Iranian resolution despite the warnings issued by Moscow and Tehran regarding the consequences of such action.
Britain, France, and Germany have submitted a draft resolution to the Board of Governors accusing Iran of undermining transparency. They also expressed concern about the lack of progress in getting Iran to explain the presence of uranium particles at the three sites.
Following the European inaction in compensating for the US withdrawal and the return of sanctions, Iran reduced its obligations in five steps in accordance with Article 36 of the deal, and finally, by fulfilling parliament legislation to lift the sanctions, it began uranium enrichment to 20% and ceased voluntarily implementation of the Additional Protocol.
On February 23, Iran stopped the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Treaty. The halt came under the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions, a law passed last December by the Iranian Parliament, and adds to Iran’s previous steps away from the 2015 nuclear deal in response to the US’s unilateral withdrawal in 2018 and the other parties’ failure to fulfill their commitments.
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