Fresh concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme

New York: There is much concern over the the developments in Iran. The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on December 12,2021 that that terror outfit Al‑Qaida has established a new home base in Tehran. His remarks came after last Saturday an Iranian lawmaker said Tehran will expel UN nuclear inspectors next month unless the US lifts its sanctions on the country.

While the United Nations Secretariat has preferred to maintain a studied silence over Pompeo’s allegation, the focus is back on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the 159-page nuclear deal with five annexes reached by Iran and the P5+1 (China France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) on July 14, 2015. This agreement was endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231, adopted on July 20, 2015. Iran’s compliance with the nuclear-related provisions of the JCPOA was to be verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) according to certain requirements set forth in the agreement. However, on May 8, 2018, President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the JCPOA and reinstate U.S. nuclear sanctions on the Iranian regime. .

“We continue to believe that it (the JCPOA) is a strong agreement that is worth supporting, and we call on Iran to respect its obligations, not only under the JCPOA but also under the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency]”, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told journalists on a specific query in this regard.

Responding to  senior adviser for Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Akbar Velayati’s comments that if there were any further negotiations on JCPOA, the snapback mechanism should be abandoned as irrational, Dujarric said This was an issue for the parties to discuss amongst themselves.  “…I think those are issues that will need to be negotiated among the signatories to the JCPOA.., this is an agreement that we feel was a very important achievement.”

– global bihari bureau