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STORY: UN / IRAN
TRT:3:32
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /RUSSIAN /NATS
DATELINE: 19 DECEMBER 2019, NEW YORK CITY
FILE
1. Exterior shot, UN Headquarters
19 DECEMBER 2019, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council begins meeting
3. Med shot, delegates
4. Zoom in, Iran’s delegate
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs:
“We therefore regret the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA in May 2018 and we also regret the recent steps taken by Iran to reduce its nuclear-related commitments under the Plan. Certain actions taken by the United States, since its withdrawal from the Plan, are contrary to the goals of the Plan. The re-imposition of its national sanctions lifted under the Plan, as well as its decision not to extend waivers for the trade in oil with Iran and certain non-proliferation projects, may also impede the ability of Iran and other Member States to implement the Plan and 2231.”
6. Wide shot, delegates
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Olof Skoog, Head of the delegation of the European Union to the United Nations:
“The JCPOA is a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture and we should not forget it was unanimously endorsed by UNSC Resolution 2231. It is the only tool available to provide the international community with the necessary assurances on Iran's nuclear programme. It is essential that we continue to preserve this tool and not let it derail into an irreparable situation.”
8. Pan right, Council in meeting
9. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vassily Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of Russian Federation to the United Nations:
“This report is a stark testament to the fact that Washington is violating its obligations under resolution 2231, specifically operational paragraphs one, two and seven, as well as the article 25 of the United Nations Charter. We believe that such actions are not only regrettable but also warrants a condemnation by the international community. Effectively, we are facing a paradoxal situation where a permanent member of the Security Council not only fails to comply with a resolution adopted inter alia under Chapter seven of the Charter but also but is also actively threatening to impose sanctions against other member states for the implementation of the provisions of resolution 2231.”
10. Cutaway, Craft speaking
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Kelly Craft, Permanent Representative of the US to the United Nations:
“The United States is willing to engage in dialogue with Iran to negotiate a deal that will better serve international peace and security. But we will not sit idly by while Iran continues to destabilize the region. We will do everything in our power to curb malign Iranian behavior, and we urge our partners on the Council to do the same.”
12. Wide shot, Council in meeting
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Majid Takht Ravanchi, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations:
“The call for a dialogue with Iran while simultaneously insisting on the application of maximum pressure policy against the Iranian people are mutually exclusive. Iran does not negotiate under the threat of a sword. The
U.S. has to make a strategic decision. As an American proverb says, "you can't have your cake and eat it too". Either you reject diplomacy and continue with your horrible and outdated maximum pressure policy, while scolded by the Iranian people and branded at the international level as an untrustworthy partner, or you act as a normal country and undo the sanctions.”
14. Cutaway, audience
15. Zoom out, end of meeting
Briefing the Security Council on the Iranian nuclear programme, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said, “We regret the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA in May 2018 and the recent steps taken by Iran to reduce its nuclear-related commitments under the Plan.”
DiCarlo also said “certain actions taken by the United States, since its withdrawal from the Plan, are contrary to the goals of the Plan. The re-imposition of its national sanctions lifted under the Plan, as well as its decision not to extend waivers for the trade in oil with Iran and certain non-proliferation projects, may also impede the ability of Iran and other Member States to implement the Plan and 2231.”
Head of the delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Olof Skoog, echoed the DiCarlo’s regrets for US withdrawal and underlined that
“the JCPOA is a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture and we should not forget it was unanimously endorsed by UNSC Resolution 2231. It is the only tool available to provide the international community with the necessary assurances on Iran's nuclear programme. It is essential that we continue to preserve this tool and not let it derail into an irreparable situation.”
Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and the sanction regime it is unilaterally imposing on Iran, is “not only regrettable but also warrants a condemnation by the international community.”
“Effectively, we are facing a paradoxal situation,” said Nebenzia, “where a permanent member of the Security Council not only fails to comply with a resolution adopted inter alia under Chapter seven of the Charter but is also actively threatening to impose sanctions against other member states for the implementation of the provisions of resolution 2231,” Russian ambassador added.
US ambassador Kelly Craft said “the United States is willing to engage in dialogue with Iran to negotiate a deal that will better serve international peace and security. But we will not sit idly by while Iran continues to destabilize the region. We will do everything in our power to curb malign Iranian behavior, and we urge our partners on the Council to do the same.”
Speaking at the end of the meeting the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi rejected Craft’s call for a dialogue and said, “Iran does not negotiate under the threat of a sword.”
“The call for a dialogue with Iran while simultaneously insisting on the application of maximum pressure policy against the Iranian people are mutually exclusive,” said Ravanchi. “The US has to make a strategic decision. As an American proverb says, "you can't have your cake and eat it too". Either you reject diplomacy and continue with your horrible and outdated maximum pressure policy, while scolded by the Iranian people and branded at the international level as an untrustworthy partner, or you act as a normal country and undo the sanctions,” he added.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – JCPOA, more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program between Iran and the the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, plus Germany signed in Vienna on 14 July 2015, under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program, in exchange for a relief from economic sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council.
Three years later and despite the IAEA certifying that Iran was mainly abiding by the JCPOA deal in May 2018, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA and later reintroduced its unilateral sanctions against Iran and any country trading with it.
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