WASHINGTON PULLS OUT OF 2 INT’L ACCORDS
Pompeo, Bolton say the treaty with Iran, Vienna protocol violate US sovereignty
WASHINGTON— The United States said on Wednesday it was pulling out of two international accords after an unfavorable ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Top US officials said Washington would pull out of the 1955 Treaty of Amity with Iran and the dispute resolution protocol in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
‘Long overdue’
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said withdrawing from the treaty with Iran was long overdue and followed the ICJ’s decision that the United States must lift sanctions on humanitarian goods for Iran.
“The Iranians have been ignoring it for an awfully long time, we ought to have pulled out of it decades ago,” Pompeo said at the State Department.
At the same time, National Security Adviser John Bolton said Washington would also be pulling out of an optional dispute resolution protocol in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that could be used to sue the US at The Hague-based tribunal.
‘Politicized claims’
“The United States will not sit idly by as baseless politicized claims are brought against us,” Bolton said, adding that the protocol violated US sovereignty.
He specifically cited the case filed by the “so-called state of Palestine” challenging the US decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as the main reason for the withdrawal.
Bolton, who last month unleashed a torrent of criticism against the International Criminal Court, noted that previous Republican administrations had pulled out of various international agreements and bodies over “politicized cases.”
Accords to be reviewed
He said the administration would review all accords that might subject the United States to prosecution by international courts or panels.
“I’d like to stress the United States remains a party to the underlying Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and we expect all other parties to abide by their international obligations under the convention,” Bolton said.
Global policy
Amid a broader push to assert US sovereignty in the world arena and after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal this year, Pompeo said the ICJ case made the treaty irrelevant.
“We’re disappointed that the court failed to recognize that it has no jurisdiction to issue any order relating to these sanctions measures with the United States,” he said.
Although The Hague court’s ruling was legally binding, Pompeo said Washington would continue to enforce sanctions and stressed that it had already made exceptions for humanitarian and flight safety even before the ICJ ruling.