Iraqi: Iran Will Resume Its Program If the JCPOA Is Abrogated by Congress

Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs and a senior member of the nuclear negotiation team, states that Iran's commitment to the JCPOA is a "mutual commitment" and that the abrogation of the JCPOA by the U.S. Congress will lead to the "resumption of the Islamic Republic's strategic nuclear programs." Mr. Araghchi made these remarks on Wednesday, September 25, in an interview with a reporter from the House of the Nation, in response to what he termed the "rhetoric of the Republicans regarding the abrogation of the JCPOA." The senior member of Iran's nuclear negotiation team reminded that "if the Americans are able to bear the costs of violating the JCPOA in the future, they can violate it. The Islamic Republic will accordingly show its reaction and resume its strategic programs." The Republican majority in the U.S. Senate has voted twice in the past week on the sufficiency of negotiations regarding the nuclear agreement to express their opposition to the matter in the form of a resolution. However, in both the Tuesday vote and the Thursday vote, the opposition of 42 Senate members to the sufficiency of negotiations caused the majority's efforts for a final vote on the Iran agreement to fail. Ultimately, Mitch McConnell, the majority leader in the Senate, announced that he has a plan that would condition the lifting of sanctions on Iran on "recognizing Israel" and "the release of American prisoners in Iran." It is unclear whether Mr. Araghchi's remarks are a direct reaction to this Republican plan or if they refer to the general Republican efforts to undermine the nuclear agreement with Iran. Nevertheless, he told the House of the Nation that "the U.S., by abrogating the JCPOA, which is a kind of violation of the United Nations Security Council resolution, must bear the political and legal costs of it in the international community." Mr. Araghchi referred to the UN Security Council resolution endorsing the Vienna nuclear agreement and added that "this creates a kind of international legal obligation for the parties, and accordingly, the parties are obliged not to violate it as long as the other party adheres to its commitments." The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister further stated that "the Security Council resolution creates a kind of enforcement guarantee, and if the U.S. government violates it, it has violated its international commitments and obligations." This senior Iranian diplomatic official, while emphasizing the "mutual nature of the commitment to the JCPOA," added that "either party can declare the JCPOA null and void, but this will lead to the other party's exit from the agreement. [Because] according to the text of the JCPOA, there is a kind of reciprocity in returning to the previous state." According to the U.S. Congress resolution, the House of Representatives and the Senate have until Thursday, September 17 (September 26) to vote positively or negatively on this agreement, and if the voting deadline expires, this matter will be removed from the Senate's agenda. Previously, on Friday, September 20, the U.S. House of Representatives symbolically rejected the Iran nuclear agreement with six world powers (JCPOA) with 269 votes against and 162 votes in favor. However, even if the House of Representatives declares opposition to the Iran nuclear agreement by the end of the voting deadline (Thursday), the lack of a vote to reject this agreement in the Senate will mean that the House's decision will not prevent the implementation of this agreement by the Obama administration. At the same time, even if the nuclear agreement is rejected in the U.S. Senate, given that more than a third of Senate members support this agreement, Barack Obama will be able to implement the nuclear agreement by vetoing the congressional vote.