Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghai addressed weekly reporters on Monday, explaining Tehran’s position on the expiration of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and the future legal framework for Iran’s nuclear activities, stressing that the resolution officially ended on October 18, according to its explicit text.
He added that although Resolution 2231 has ended, some of the rights it granted to Iran remain in place, including authorization for its enrichment program and related activities.
Bagai stressed that the JCPOA is a temporary understanding that obligates Western countries to lift illegal sanctions imposed on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, while Iran commits to voluntary transparency and confidence-building measures.
Iran implemented these measures until 2018, when the United States withdrew from the JCPOA, and added that until a year later, in May 2019, 15 official International Atomic Energy Agency reports emphasized Iran’s full fulfillment of its obligations.
Britain, France and Germany activated a mechanism known as “snapback” on August 28, starting a 30-day process to reinstate all UN sanctions against Iran. The snapback mechanism was part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA), which allowed signatories other than Iran to reinstate UN sanctions if they deemed Iran not in compliance with its commitments.
In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday, the U.N. representatives of Iran, Russia and China said Europe’s decision to trigger a snapback lacks legal basis.
MNA/