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UN / IRAN WRAP
STORY: UN / IRAN WRAP
TRT: 2:41
SOURCE: UNIFEED-UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / RUSSIAN
DATELINE: 18 JULY 2016, NEW YORK CITY
18 JULY 2016, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, Security Council
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Feltman, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs:
“The Secretary-General commends the Islamic Republic of Iran for implementing its nuclear-related commitments, as verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He also commends the European Union and the United States for the steps they have taken in accordance with their sanctions-related commitments under the JCPOA.”
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Feltman, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs:
“While it is for the Security Council to interpret its own resolutions, the Secretary-General stressed that we must maintain the momentum created by the conclusion of the JCPOA, consistent with its constructive spirit. In this regard, he calls upon Iran to avoid such ballistic missile launches which have the potential to increase tensions in the region.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Samantha Power, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
“The deal has not resolved all of our differences with Iran. We continue to be profoundly concerned about human rights abuses that Iran commits against its own people and about the instability that Iran continues to fuel through its destabilizing activities in the region, including repeated threats against Israel. But we are undoubtedly in a better place to address these and other challenges without the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vitaly Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations:
“In the course of the discussions we’ve seen interesting methodologies that have been used. Individual countries are making statements and references to them are included in the Secretary-General’s report. But why are these countries referring to a report as documentary reference to what they have asserted? All of this would simply be funny if we weren’t talking about such an important issue as the implementation of the JCPOA.”
9. Med shot, Israeli ambassador approaching stakeout
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Danny Danon, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations:
“I call on today to the Security Council to immediately take concrete and immediate action to stop Iran’s ballistic missile programme and to put an end to their murderous support of terrorism all over the world.”
11. Wide shot, Israeli ambassador
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Danny Danon, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations:
“It is not a threat to Israel. Don’t be mistaken. When we speak with our neighbouring countries, the issue of Iran is on the table. It is a threat to the Middle East; it is a threat to the stability. And I think every country in Europe should be worried because today they are righting to erase Israel off the map, tomorrow they will write it about other countries as well.”
13. Pan right, Israeli ambassador leaving stakeout
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended Iran for implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached last year with world powers.
Briefing the Council on the Secretary-General report on resolution 2231 which endorsed the agreement, UN Political chief JeffreyFeltman said the JCPOA would assure the international community of the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme and help to realize “the long-awaited hopes and aspirations of the Iranian people to be reconnected” to the international community when it was fully implemented.
Feltman also said the Secretary-General had not received any reports regarding the “supply, sale, transfer, or export” of nuclear-related or ballistic missile-related items to Iran. Feltman noted Iran’s launching of missiles during a military exercise in March and the disagreement among Council members on whether this violated resolution. He said “while it is for the Security Council to interpret its own resolutions”, the Secretary-General called upon Iran to avoid such ballistic missile launches which “have the potential to increase tensions in the region.”
US ambassador Samantha Power welcomed Iran’s “swift implementation of this historic deal” which she said had improved international peace and security. Power said, “The world is safer because of this deal.” Power said that the United States had and would continue to implement its commitments under the JCPOA and had “engaged with governments, businesses, and banks around the world that have questions about” its changed sanctions environment.
Power said the deal had not resolved all of the US’s differences with Iran but was in a better place to address challenges “without the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.”
Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the report presented by the Secretary-General had a “politically biased character” and contains information that is not relevant to the issue at hand.
He said the report “not only was not going to facilitate the sustainable fulfillment of the JCPOA but also might undermine the agreements reached.” Churkin said his delegation offered “corrections” to the report and “hoped to avoid public criticism of the Secretary-General, however our comments were not heard.”
Churkin also said it was unacceptable to include an “unchecked data which is simply being picked up from the media or received from isolated countries in particular on those questions which have not yet finished being considered.” He wondered why some countries were referring to comments by those countries in the report as “documentary reference.” He said this “would simply be funny if we weren’t talking about such an important issue as the implementation of the JCPOA.”
Speaking to reporters outside the Security Council earlier today, Israeli ambassador Danny Danon said Iran had violated resolution 2331 “just last week” by firing ballistic missiles. Danon called on the Security Council to take “concrete and immediate action to stop Iran’s ballistic missile programme and to put an end to their murderous support of terrorism all over the world.”
He said Iran’s ballistic missile programme was not a threat to Israel rather the it was a threat to the region. Danon also said “every country in Europe should be worried because today they are righting to erase Israel off the map, tomorrow they will write it about other countries as well.”
The JCPOA was reached between Iran and the P5+1, which includes the 5 Permanent Members of the Security Council (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States) and Germany last July. The agree was to ensure that Iran’s nuclear programme would be used exclusively for peaceful purposes while lifting nuclear-related economic sanctions on Iran.
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