UN Secretary-General Warns of the Collapse of the JCPOA

Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, warned on Thursday, May 2, about the consequences of the collapse of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). According to Reuters, in an interview with BBC Radio 4, the UN Secretary-General described the Middle East as a 'dangerous' region and stated: 'I believe that we must do everything possible to prevent these dangers.' Guterres referred to the JCPOA as an 'important diplomatic victory' and emphasized the importance of preserving it. He further stated that in his view, there are issues in the Middle East that require serious dialogue because, according to him, 'this region is in a very dangerous position.' Guterres continued by saying: 'I understand the concerns of some countries regarding Iran's influence in other countries in the region (but) I think we need to separate the issues.' Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has long called the JCPOA 'the worst deal ever' and promised to withdraw from it. The U.S. President has set four conditions for continuing U.S. participation in the JCPOA, which include 'immediate access' for international inspectors to all Iranian sites and facilities, making restrictions on Iran's nuclear program permanent, ensuring that Iran does not approach nuclear weapons, and limiting Iran's ballistic missile program. Trump has given a deadline until May 12 to correct the 'flaws' of the JCPOA; otherwise, he will not extend the suspension of sanctions on Iran under the JCPOA. The U.S. President emphasized that if Iran resumes its nuclear program, it will face 'bigger problems' than before. Meanwhile, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, warned that if the U.S. withdraws from the nuclear deal with six world powers, the JCPOA, it will have 'very unpleasant' consequences for Washington. In response to a question about the possibility of Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA, Guterres said: 'In my opinion, this agreement is an important achievement. If one day there is a better agreement to replace it, that is one thing, but we should not tear it up unless we have a good replacement.' European leaders have urged Trump to remain committed to the JCPOA, but at the same time expressed readiness to make changes to it. However, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, stated on April 24 that Tehran would not accept any changes to the terms of the JCPOA. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, in September 2017 during a meeting with Trump, urged him to take action especially regarding the 'sunset clause' of the JCPOA. According to the 'sunset clause,' Iran can increase its enrichment centrifuges after 10 years and is allowed to increase its stock of less-enriched uranium after 15 years. Netanyahu emphasized that Israel, whether in the form of amending or canceling the JCPOA, seeks the removal of problematic provisions of the JCPOA. The Israeli Prime Minister stated on Monday that the JCPOA was based on 'lies' and announced that 55,000 pages of documents from Iran's nuclear program had been obtained by Israel, indicating that Iran was seeking to build five nuclear warheads.