Hassan Ghashghavi
Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Spain
The starting point of the negotiations that led to the achievement of the nuclear agreement (JCPOA) dates back to my visit to Muscat in 2011 as, at that time, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister. On that trip, during a meeting with the representative of the Sultan of Oman, I was handed a summary of the contents of the messages exchanged between Sultan Qaboos and then US President Barak Obama, which contained US government proposals on the Iranian nuclear issue. That document served as the basis for the Muscat talks and the subsequent nuclear talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 countries and consequently, the achievement of the nuclear deal in July 2015. The agreement was ratified and endorsed by the United Nations in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
Despite the international support for the nuclear agreement, unfortunately, as Donald Trump rose to power, the US Government irresponsibly and unilaterally withdrew from this important international agreement, in clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, and reimposed the harshest and cruelest pressures and sanctions against the Iranian people. The US Government not only reinstated the previous sanctions, but imposed new sanctions against Iran with other labels. These illegal actions took place while the Islamic Republic of Iran was complying with all its obligations under the nuclear deal, as corroborated by the 15 reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with its undeniable right under Articles 26 and 36 of the nuclear deal and in response to the unilateral withdrawal of the United States and the illegal re-imposition of sanctions by the United States – and after several months of patience and following a policy of “maximum resistance” in the face of the Trump administration’s policy of “maximum pressure”-, began a gradual process of reducing its nuclear commitments under the agreement, which can be reversed if the other parties comply with their commitments within the agreement.
Now, with the change of Government in the United States and the coming to power of Joe Biden, a new atmosphere has been created. In view of his stated policies regarding the US return to the nuclear agreement, President Biden could make this policy a reality with a simple Executive Order, just as he did in relation to the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization.
Still the main issue is not the US return to the nuclear deal. What is more important is that all nuclear, and other sanctions imposed on Iran by the Trump administration be lifted, not on paper, but in practice. Such an action by the United States and its allies will be able to bring Iran to resume compliance with all its obligations under the terms of the nuclear deal.
Regarding the policies and approach of the Europeans, here I must point out that Iran’s expectations about the preservation of the nuclear deal by the European Union countries were not met, and the EU’s actions boiled down to a few simple statements and political positions. To say that the EU countries “would not” or “could not” makes little difference to Iran in practice, since the Iranian people have been, and still are, practically subjected to the most severe and cruel sanctions so that, in the difficult conditions created by the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, even medicines for the treatment of patients could not be purchased.
And in conclusion, I hope that with the adoption of the right approach by the new US administration, its return to the nuclear agreement and the practical lifting of sanctions against the Iranian nation, conditions will be in place for the fulfillment of the reciprocal obligations of all parties under that agreement.
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