Zarif Calls for UN to Hold the US Accountable for Leaving the JCPOA

Iran's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, urged the organization to hold the US accountable for what he termed its 'irresponsible and unilateral behavior' in exiting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Zarif threatened that Iran would withdraw from the JCPOA if its 'rights and interests' are not secured after exhausting existing avenues. The letter was sent on May 9 but was published in Iranian media on Monday. He emphasized that for the continuation of the JCPOA, the remaining countries in the agreement and the international community must 'fully assure that Iran's interests are compensated unconditionally through appropriate national, regional, and global actions.' Zarif described the US exit from the JCPOA as 'illegal' and 'unjustified,' asserting that the country has also 'brazenly violated' UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers. This resolution calls on Iran to refrain from developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Iran maintains that its missiles are not designed to carry nuclear warheads, as it does not intend to produce such weapons. However, the US and three European countries have previously stated that Iran's missile program is not in line with Resolution 2231 and is a 'source of instability and insecurity' in the region. The UN Secretary-General had also reported to the Security Council that Iran has likely ignored the organization's demands to halt its ballistic missile program, although it has remained committed to the nuclear agreement. Following the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, Iranian officials have stated that remaining in the agreement is contingent upon receiving 'guarantees' from the five remaining countries regarding the 'protection of Iran's interests.' Zarif has begun his travels to consult with other countries involved in the JCPOA, having already visited China and Russia. He is scheduled to meet with his German, French, and British counterparts in Brussels on Tuesday. In his letter to the UN Secretary-General, Zarif also mentioned that he had previously outlined the 'most significant instances of non-implementation' of the JCPOA by the US through 12 official letters addressed to the EU's foreign policy chief. The Iranian Foreign Minister emphasized that the United States has 'continuously violated the terms of the agreement almost from the very beginning and has even prevented other JCPOA members from fulfilling their commitments.' He cited 'negligence in issuing necessary permits for the sale or leasing of passenger aircraft,' 'obstruction of Iran's free access to its assets abroad,' 'preventing the re-establishment of non-American banking and financial relations with Iran,' and 're-imposing and enforcing certain sanctions' as instances of the US's 'non-implementation of the JCPOA.' Zarif's remarks about the US's 'violation of the JCPOA' come at a time when Iranian Foreign Ministry officials had not previously mentioned US violations during the first two years of the agreement's implementation. Meanwhile, the European Union had stated on July 12, 2017, that all parties to the nuclear agreement had adhered to their commitments up to that point. Prior to that, Reuters reported that Iran, despite its public protests against new US sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, did not formally object to the implementation of the nuclear agreement during the Joint Commission meeting. In this context, 'Iran's three options' regarding the US exit from the JCPOA include Zarif's call for Europeans to provide guarantees to Iran regarding the JCPOA, the German Foreign Minister's statement that protecting German companies from US sanctions is difficult, President Hassan Rouhani's assertion that he would remain in the JCPOA if the five remaining countries guarantee Iran's interests, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's claim that the US is seeking a new nuclear agreement with Iran.