Rouhani urges int’l action against ‘illegal’ US JCPOA withdrawal
President Hassan Rouhani said the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran is an insult to the international community, calling on the world to take action against Washington’s “illegal” move.
“That the United States is quitting an international treaty unilaterally and without any particular reason is an insult to the world countries and a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231,” Rouhani said on Friday.
Resolution 2231 was adopted by the UN Security Council in July 2015 to endorse the multilateral nuclear agreement, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Press TV reported.
“The whole world has to feel that the approach that the US is adopting is a dangerous approach in international relations which undermines international treaties, and countries should not remain silent on this illegal move,” he said.
Rouhani made the comments prior to his departure to China, where he is scheduled to take part in the 18th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Experts from the six remaining signatories to the Iran nuclear agreement gathered in Tehran for their second meeting since the US withdrawal from the deal.
Delegates from Iran and other parties to the deal – Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany – held discussions behind closed doors in Tehran on Thursday over the future of the now six-party agreement. European Union experts were also taking part in the negotiations.
The latest session of the JCPOA’S Joint Commission had taken place on May 25, weeks after US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s withdrawal from the deal and said nuclear-related sanctions would be reimposed on Tehran.
The EU and all the remaining parties to the JCPOA – now known as the P4+1 – have censured Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the international document, which was inked in July 2015 and endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution.
Iran’s partners, particularly the Europeans, have been scrambling to keep the deal in place, vowing that they would remain committed to the agreement despite Washington’s pullout.
On Wednesday, foreign ministers from the UK, France, Germany and the European Union’s top diplomat, Federica Mogherini, jointly wrote to the US, urging Washington not to go ahead with its planned “secondary sanctions” against European firms doing business in Iran.
The Iranian president said “US unilateralism” is among the issues he would discuss with world leaders at the summit.