The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Netherlands, H.E. Mr. Alireza Jahangiri, invited the media to a breakfast meeting to exchange views on the current issues related to Iran. In a frank conversation, the Ambassador advocated for Iran’s rightfulness and exhorted the international community to uphold the Rule of Law.
Welcoming representatives from the media for the breakfast meeting, Ambassador Jahangiri opened the talks with a discussion on Dutch news. Soon, however, the conversation led to the current international situation of Iran, which is facing new challenges in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal.
The Ambassador talked with the media about the historical context predating the much debated nuclear issue. H.E. Mr. Jahangiri noted that “since the Revolution in 1979, Iran has faced all types of hostilities and pressures,” such as severe political and economic sanctions, eight years of war, the assassination of 17000 citizens, coup and regime change attempts, and a war from the media.
The international pressure campaign against Iran – the Ambassador noted – also targeted Iran’s nuclear programme. The Ambassador stressed the peaceful nature of such programme, which was needed for energy supply, medical treatment, and industrial applications. While reports from the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency failed to provide any definitive evidence of the alleged military objectives of Iran’s nuclear programme – Ambassador Jahangiri stressed – Iran still chose the path of negotiations.
In spite of the Iran’s indisputable right to a peaceful nuclear programme, the country decided to engage in 12 long years of negotiations with the West, H.E. Mr. Jahangiri noted, with the aim of reaching a win-win outcome. Such outcome was reached in 2015, when the JCPOA was signed by Iran and the so-called P5+1 (the 5 Permanent Members of the UN Security Council plus Germany), and then endorsed by UNSC Reslution 2231. Under the deal, Iran agreed on certain restrictions to its nuclear programme, in exchange for relief from international sanctions.
While the IAEA has certified for 12 times the Islamic Republic’s compliance with the JCPOA, in May 2018 President Donald J. Trump announced the unilateral withdrawal of the U.S. from the deal, thus setting the scene for the snap-back of a series of harsh economic sanctions on Iran. Such sanctions already caused major damages to Iran, such as the suspension of KLM and Air France direct flights to Tehran, as well as the halt of Iran’s imports and exports of certain goods.
Ambassador Jahangiri stressed that the Islamic Republic of Iran, although being able to reciprocate and re-start its pre-deal nuclear activities, decided to abide by its obligations and responsibilities under the JCPOA.
Through a responsible approach based on the Rule of Law – the Ambassador explained – Iran filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice, claiming violations on the side of the U.S. to the 1955 “Treaty of amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights” between the U.S. and Iran. After holding hearings, the Court issued provisional measures ordering the U.S. to free the exports of medical goods, food stuffs, and civil aviation spare parts to Iran.
Such decision – H.E. Mr. Jahangiri stressed – was adopted unanimously by the ICJ judges, including the United State’s judge.
However – he regretted – the U.S. decided to adopt a “bullying reaction” it withdrew from the Treaty of Amity, as it had previously done from UNESCO, the UN Human Rights Council, the Paris Agreement, NAFTA, the TPP, as well as the JCPOA. Such withdrawal is itself a breach of paragraph 3 of the Court’s order, in which the parties are asked to refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute.
Referring to the Court’s order, which is legally binding upon all countries, Ambassador Jahangiri called on the international community to abandon all restrictions in relation to the cases covered by the order, and to refuse to cooperate with the U.S. in its “unlawful impose of unilateral sanctions.” In particular, the Ambassador called on the EU to “take practical measures to preserve the track of diplomacy, multilateralism and the rule of law.”
On November 4th, a new round of U.S. sanctions on Iran is set to take effect. In the meanwhile, the whole world closely follows the current situation of Iran.
