Iran nuclear deal break-up would jeopardize global security, situation on Korean peninsula – Lavrov
Breaking up the Iran nuclear deal would jeopardize global security, including the situation on the Korean peninsula, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Regarding the Iranian nuclear program, it is impossible to return to the situation which pertained before the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was ratified in July 2015 in Vienna, Lavrov said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “performs regular checks and confirms their [Iran’s] strict fulfillment of obligations,” the foreign minister stated.
“Restoring the UN Security Council sanctions [on Iran] is out of the question,” Lavrov stressed.
According to the top Russian official, any changes to the Iran deal would require the approval of all member states, including Iran. The agreement was reached between Tehran and the so-called ‘P5+1’ – five permanent members of the UNSC (China, France, Russia, the UK and US) as well as Germany.
“Any attempts to start such talks [to break up the Iran nuclear deal] may bury this important agreement in the sphere of strategic stability and nuclear non-proliferation,” Lavrov said.
Tehran says it won’t be first to withdraw from nuclear deal
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told journalists in Moscow on Friday that Tehran would not withdraw from the nuclear deal before any other party.
“We won’t be the first [to] withdraw from the deal… We will be committed to our obligations. We will not be the first who violate the agreement,” Araghchi, adding that Iran would “react” to those who quit the agreement.
Iran does not believe that any additional inspections on Iranian nuclear sites are necessary, the minister said. There is no need to change or add any chapters into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iranian deal, he stated.
“The deal, as well as its protocols, was clear in terms of checks and monitoring [of Iran’s nuclear sites], all measures were agreed upon,” he added.
The Iranian nuclear deal has been a hot discussion point since US President Donald Trump opted to not certify the nuclear deal in October, a move which triggered criticism from other signatories. On Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he hoped “that Congress does not put this accord in jeopardy.” Le Drian was speaking on behalf of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), the German chancellor, the British prime minister, and the French president.
Later Trump said that a total termination of the Iran nuclear deal is a very real possibility.
In response, Tehran said it had a detailed a plan of action for the contingency wherein Washington backs out of the deal.
“We have a plan… We’ve recently approved in parliament what we should do [if] the Americans undertake certain steps,” Iranian Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said. “We will take steps so that the Americans will regret it.”
