Russia has urged the UN Security Council not to use exclusive agreements on the Iran nuclear program in new formats, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the world organization Vladimir Safronkov said at Wednesday’s session of the Security Council.

Non-government agencies are trying to make use of provisions of the Iran nuclear deal for boosting the guarantee system of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and for promoting nuclear disarmament.

The Russian diplomat called on the UN Secretariat to oversee these “arbitrary actions” which run counter to Item 27 of Resolution 2231 approved by the UN Security Council in support to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program.

“There the unprecedented nature of JCPOA provisions is clearly-defined in the context of continued attempts to impose exclusive agreements of this plan in other formats,” Safronkov said. “Meanwhile, certain non-governmental agencies are working out steps so as to use the JCPOA measures for strengthening the IAEA guarantee system, even with the aim to promote nuclear disarmament.”

Russia is against any attempts “to make pressure on Iran in the aspect of its missile program or conventional arms sector,” he said.

“Any threats to cancel work on lifting unilateral sanctions and on returning Iran to the world’s economic market are inadmissible, incorrect and speculative,” the Russian diplomat said.

UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said at the Security Council’s session that over the first year of Iran nuclear deal’s implementation, the UN Secretariat had received no reports about any violations of its provisions. At the same time, he pointed out that Iran had breached the arms export ban and that blacklisted persons made foreign trips.

Safronkov said that the UN Secretariat’s report presented by Feltman contained “less unverified information and media injections” and became “more fact-based, unbiased and neutral.”

“The key drawback of the report” is that it fails to mention “really existing problems” related to lifting sanctions against Iran.

“As a result, the picture is becoming one-sided and knotty,” the Russian deputy envoy to the UN said.

History of Iran nuclear deal

The talks over the Iranian nuclear dossier began back in 2004, after the western countries accused Tehran of working on a secret military nuclear program. Starting from 2006 the talks with Iran were conducted by a sextet of international mediators – the five member-states of the UN Security Council and Germany. In 2006-2010 the United Nations, the United States and the European Union introduced several packages of sanctions against Iran.

On July 14, 2015 the first final Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for the Iranian nuclear program was agreed. Iran pledged to produce no weapons-grade plutonium, to have no more than 300 kg of uranium enriched to 3.67% for a period of fifteen years, reequip its nuclear facilities and use them exclusively for peaceful purposes. The weapons embargo imposed by the UN Security Council will remain effective for five years, the ban on the supply of ballistic technologies to Iran, for eight years and IAEA specialists will be inspecting Iranian nuclear facilities for 25 years.

On January 16, 2016 the United Nations, the United States and the European Union lifted their economic and financial restrictions from Iran they had imposed over its nuclear program. The US decrees on sanctions were suspended but not canceled altogether.

Source: tass.com