UN chief calls on all Member States to support Iran deal

EghtesadOnline: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday called upon “all Member States to support further pursuit of this historic agreement,” referring to Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPAO).

News ID: ۷۴۲۷۶۳

15 July 2017

“I shall continue to support the implementation of the JCPOA, in accordance with resolution 2231 (2015) and other relevant decisions of the Security Council.”Guterres said in a statement released by the UN website on the occasion of the second anniversary of the landmark international agreement.

Iran and the six world powers- US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany- signed the JCPOA on July 14, 2015. The “Implementation Day” of the JCPOA was announced on January 16, 2016, according to IRNA.

“The JCPOA was a major achievement in the area of nuclear non-proliferation.

“It gives us all hope that the most complex issues in this domain can be addressed through dialogue, understanding and cooperation.

“I am confident that the JCPOA is the best way to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program and realize the great aspiration of the Iranian people,” the UN chief noted in his statement.

“Two years on, I am encouraged by the continued implementation of the Plan. I commend the Islamic Republic of Iran for implementing its nuclear-related commitments, as verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“I also welcome the recent recommitment by the JCPOA participants, in Vienna, on 25 April, to the full and effective implementation of the Plan.

“Their sustained commitment is essential for the long-term viability and success of the agreement. I call upon them to continue to work together in good faith and reciprocity to ensure that all participants benefit from the Plan.

“It is in the interest of the international community that this achievement of multilateral diplomacy endures transitions and implementation challenges cementing our collective commitment to diplomacy and dialogue,” Guterres stressed.

In related development, senior world officials also marked the second anniversary of the JCPOA.

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini in a statement on Friday said that the JCPOA was an historic achievement for the security of the region and of the whole world, a success for multilateral diplomacy that has proven to work and deliver.

Also, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, upon his arrival at the airport in New York Thursday afternoon local time (early Friday morning in Tehran) to partake in the United Nations' High-Level Political Forum 2017, suggested the US to reconsider its policy towards the landmark nuclear deal as it is an international agreement and indicated that the policy of force and pressure is inefficient.