Security Council resolution ensures JCPOA enforcement: UN chief

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the Security Council’s adoption of a resolution endorsing a recent nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries will "ensure" its enforcement.

Iran and the P5+1 countries – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany – succeeded in finalizing the text of an agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in Vienna on July 14 after 18 days of intense negotiations and all-nighters that capped around 23 months of talks between Iran and the six world powers.

Under the JCPOA, limits will be put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all economic and financial bans, against the Islamic Republic.

The UN Security Council on Monday unanimously endorsed a draft resolution turning the JCPOA into international law. All 15 members of the body voted for the draft UN resolution in New York, setting the stage for the lifting of the Security Council sanctions against Iran.

Immediately after the resolution was adopted, the UN chief welcomed the move, saying it “will ensure the enforcement of the JCPOA.”

Ban added that the resolution establishes procedures that will facilitate the JCPOA’s implementation and enable all the negotiating parties to carry out their obligations envisaged in the agreement.

“The resolution provides for the eventual removal of all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran and guarantees that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will continue to verify Iran’s compliance with its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA,” Ban said.

Assertion of JCPOA

A senior Iranian nuclear negotiator said on Monday that the UN Security Council has asserted the recent nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 by unanimously adopting a resolution endorsing the historic agreement.

“All members [of the negotiating parties], particularly the Islamic Republic of Iran, had demanded that the Security Council should assert the agreement at the first step,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi said in a televised interview.

He noted that the Security Council resolution has set a “clear roadmap” and called on both Iran and the six world powers to implement it. 

“Based on the resolution, the roadmap is completely clear. On the day of the implementation of the agreement, previous (UN) resolutions will be terminated within the next four to six months,” the Iranian diplomat explained.

He, however, said all unilateral sanctions against Iran will be lifted after Tehran fulfills its commitments and the IAEA verifies it.

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