Iran vows to honour nuclear pledge despite UN resolution termination

Tehran, Oct 20 (IANS) The termination of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 will not affect Tehran's fundamental commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, including its pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said here Monday.

Although both Resolution 2231 and the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), expired Saturday, Iran's rights to uranium enrichment and peaceful nuclear activities will continue, Baghaei told a weekly press conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

He criticized France, Britain and Germany, collectively known as the E3, for failing to demonstrate credible commitment to negotiations, noting they had triggered the "snapback" mechanism to reinstate sanctions before the resolution's expiration.

Iran had fully honored its JCPOA obligations until 2019, while other parties had flawed performance from the beginning, he said, adding that the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 was particularly damaging, prompting Iran to subsequently scale back its commitments under the deal.

Iran signed the JCPOA with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States in July 2015, agreeing to put some curbs on its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions, including those of the UN. The United States, however, pulled out of the JCPOA in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

In late August, the E3 triggered the "snapback" mechanism, leading to the reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that, as of Saturday, all UN Security Council resolutions and restrictions regarding Iran's nuclear program are no longer legally binding.

--IANS

int/dan