As Expiry of Iran Nuclear Deal Approaches and Regional Tensions Flare, Security Council Hears Calls for Return to Diplomacy that Achieved Agreement
With the clock ticking down towards the expiration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as conflicts proliferate in the Middle East, nuclear diplomacy is needed now, the Security Council heard today, even as its members disagreed on both how the Plan veered off-course and how to get it back on track.
Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, noting that 10 months remain until the “termination day” of resolution 2231 (2015), said that impasse on restoring the Plan persists while the regional context has deteriorated. The United States has not returned to the Plan, nor has it lifted or waived the unilateral sanctions it reimposed after withdrawing from the agreement in May 2018. Further, it has not extended waivers regarding the trade in oil with Iran. For its part, Iran has not reversed any of the steps it has taken since moving away from its nuclear-related commitments.
Citing the most recent quarterly report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), she said that the Agency’s verification and monitoring activities related to the Plan have been “seriously affected by the cessation of Iran’s implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the [Plan]”. The Agency also noted that it has lost continuity of knowledge on many aspects of Iran’s nuclear programme. While IAEA remains unable to verify the country’s stockpile of enriched uranium, it is estimated to be approximately 32 times the amount allowable under the Plan. She also cited the Agency’s ad hoc reports regarding Iran’s activities to increase production of uranium enriched to 60 per cent.
The restrictive measures set out resolution 2231 (2015) pertaining to nuclear activities and transfers will remain in place until 18 October 2025, unless otherwise decided by the Council, she added. Calling on all participants in the Plan — and the United States — to prioritize multilateralism and diplomacy, she said that these were the principles that made agreement possible in 2015.
“We still believe that diplomacy is the best way to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme,” said Stavros Lambrinidis, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations. Yet, Iran’s accumulation of highly enriched uranium and expansion of its nuclear-enrichment infrastructure are of grave concern. Moreover, its lack of cooperation with IAEA is affecting the Agency’s monitoring ability. Various comments made by Iranian officials — suggesting that the country’s nuclear doctrine could change — are also of great concern, he added, highlighting Iran's military support to the Russian Federation’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
“We continue to recognize that Iran has faced — and continues to face — very serious, negative economic consequences following the United States’ withdrawal from [the Plan] and the reimposition of previously lifted unilateral sanctions,” he said. Therefore, all parties to the Plan must sustain dialogue on the Iranian nuclear programme and related sanctions matters. Urging Iran to resume full cooperation with IAEA and to refrain from further moving away from its commitments under the Plan as a first confidence-building measure, he said that de-escalation on the nuclear front would help restore trust and could recreate an environment conducive to the assumption of negotiations.
Also addressing the Council today was Vanessa Frazier (Malta), in her capacity as Security Council Facilitator for the implementation of resolution 2231 (2015), who said that IAEA plays an important role in the verification and monitoring of nuclear activities in Iran. Its work provides confidence for the international community that Iran’s nuclear programme is for exclusively peaceful purposes. “We believe that, through dialogue and multilateralism, we can make the utmost effort in ensuring that the Plan and resolution 2231 (2015) are implemented effectively,” she said.
As the floor opened, many Council members pointed to the spirit of negotiation and compromise that culminated in the Plan nine years ago. However, other speakers traded accusations regarding the aims of the relevant parties today.
“We have good reason to be concerned about Tehran’s intentions,” the representative of the United States said, expressing concern that Iran is ramping up production of enriched uranium and is not interested in verifying that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful. “Iran will tell you its aims are peaceful — that they are for civilian use — but the IAEA's report calls this into question,” he said, calling on that country to act to build international confidence. Also expressing concern over Iran’s supply of prohibited ballistic-missile technology to the Houthis, its supply of weapons to Hizbullah and its transfer of drone technology and short-range ballistic missiles to the Russian Federation, he stressed: “A nuclear Iran can never be an option.”
Echoing that, the representative of Germany said that there is no credible civilian justification for the scale of Iran’s uranium-enrichment activities, asking: “Iran is the only State without nuclear weapons to enrich at 60 per cent — why?” In 2022, that country refused to seize a critical diplomatic opportunity to agree to a revised Plan and, highlighting recent statements by Iranian Government officials, she said that those generate grave concerns regarding Iran’s commitment to not seek, develop or acquire a nuclear weapon. “The E3 [United Kingdom, France and Germany] remain firmly committed to work towards a diplomatic solution,” she added.
Unfortunately, noted the representative of the Republic of Korea, recent developments are undermining a conducive atmosphere for negotiations with Iran — such as reports on the transfer of ballistic missiles and drones from that country to third parties. “This Council is well-aware, through its long experience dealing with North Korea, of the consequences when measures are not transparent,” he added. For their part, the representatives of France and Japan expressed concern that IAEA has lost continuity of knowledge regarding certain aspects of Iran’s nuclear programme, while the representative of the United Kingdom added: “Iran has a choice: it can continue to escalate in the coming months, or it can choose diplomacy. It must the latter.”
However, meaningful diplomacy depends on mutual respect, Iran’s delegate responded, adding that experience has shown that threats only undermine trust. The root cause of the current situation is that the United States abandoned its obligations and withdrew from the Plan. The allegation regarding his country’s non-compliance is not only factually incorrect, but also relies on arbitrary interpretations of the Plan, he said. And, pointing to ongoing breaches of that agreement, he highlighted the refusal to implement certain commitments, the reimposition of lifted sanctions and the introduction of new unlawful restrictive measures.
“Iran’s nuclear programme is — and has always been — exclusively peaceful, operating under the most rigorous monitoring regime in the IAEA’s history,” he stressed, highlighting the constructive visit of the Agency’s Director-General to Tehran in November. He added that, while his country engaged in the Vienna talks in good faith and showed flexibility, negotiations failed because of the unrealistic demands of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States, as well as their attempts to link unrelated issues.
The representative of the Russian Federation also stressed that the current situation results from violations of agreement by the United States and the European parties to the Plan. The outgoing United States Administration, “which came to power on a wave of promises to correct the mistakes of its predecessors”, has done absolutely nothing to bring Washington, D.C., back to the nuclear deal, he pointed out. “Brussels continues to abuse its powers,” he added, while the United Kingdom, France and Germany seize any reason to ratchet up anti-Iranian hysteria. Highlighting Iran’s cooperation with IAEA, he said that country is the most closely verified State among the Agency’s members. Also expressing concern over direct threats to trigger the Plan’s snapback mechanism, he said that any such attempts will be doomed to failure.
Amidst this heated discussion, several speakers stressed the need for dialogue. Among them, Algeria’s delegate urged all parties to exercise restraint and avoid provocative actions that risk escalating tensions or undermining diplomatic resolutions. He called on all parties to capitalize on progress made and to demonstrate the necessary political will to reach mutually acceptable solutions. Similarly, Mozambique’s delegate observed: “Confrontation often exacerbates tensions, rather than resolve them.”
Malta’s delegate, meanwhile, noted that the Plan represented a great diplomatic achievement, while the representative of Guyana reminded the Council that cooperation and diplomacy were the basis on which it was negotiated. “We remain confident that there is only a political solution to Iran’s nuclear issue,” Slovenia’s delegate added, while the representative of Ecuador said that collective security must prevail over individual interests.
Adding to that, the representative of China stressed the need to work towards a political settlement by maintaining the effectiveness of the Plan — “rather than overturning the Plan, or reinventing the wheel” — while Sierra Leone’s speaker commended the Plan’s Coordinator for his continued efforts to consult with parties to the agreement and the United States, facilitate the possible return of the United States to the Plan and ensure full and effective implementation of the agreement.
For her part, Switzerland’s delegate said that non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament are particularly key at this moment, given the risk of escalation in the regional conflict. “We must work as quickly as possible to return to the path of negotiation and strengthen dialogue in the spirit that prevailed in Geneva, Lausanne and Vienna 10 years ago,” she urged.
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