IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

TEHRAN – The remaining signatories to a 2015 Iran nuclear deal say they will do everything possible to preserve the landmark accord following their first meeting since the United States launched an unlawful push to restore United Nations sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The meeting of the Joint Commission to the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was co-chaired by Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, European External Action Service Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid.

In a post on her Twitter account at the end of the talks, Schmid wrote that it was “important” that the participants — Iran, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China — were “united in resolve to preserve” the nuclear deal.

She added that the parties were also determined to “find a way to ensure full implementation of the agreement despite current challenges.”

All parties to the JCPOA –Iran, Russia, China, the UK, France and Germany- reiterated that the U.S. is not a participant in the nuclear deal and has no right to use the mechanisms embedded in the JCPOA or in the UNSC Resolution 2231, he underlined.

The JCPOA Joint Commission deems that the U.S. government’s anti-Iranian attempts at the UN are illegal, considers as null and void the U.S.’ bid to trigger the snapback mechanism, and believes that Washington’s measures will get nowhere, he added.

“All JCPOA members and the majority of the international community members are opposed to the U.S.’ unilateral policies and its policy of weakening multilateralism, international organizations and multilateral approaches in the international relations. Everybody complains about the measures the U.S. is taking to ruin the international institutions,” Araqchi stated.

He further criticized the inefficiency of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), a financial mechanism developed by the three European members of the JCPOA- saying while the channel was supposed to organize trade interaction between Iran and Europe in defiance of the US sanctions, it has fallen far below Iran’s expectations.

The European parties have come up with some ideas to improve the efficiency of the payment channel, Araqchi added, saying one initiative is to allow Russia and China to join the INSTEX and carry financial transactions.

The EU3 has also proposed the idea of increasing the number of INSTEX shareholders and finding new financial resources to fund the channel, the Iranian deputy foreign minister noted.

Speaking after the meeting, Araqchi also said Iran’s JCPOA partners do not recognize the U.S. as a participating side and “do not regard this country as entitled to use the mechanisms of the JCPOA or Resolution 2231.”

“The convergence among the participants sent an important message to the world about the position of the JCPOA’s members,” he said. “This is, of course, the stance of the majority of the international community. The mood at the UN Security Council is also similar.”

“All JCPOA members and the majority of the world community are against America’s unilateral policies and undermining multilateralism and global institutions in international relations. Everyone is complaining about the measures that the US takes to destroy international bodies,” he said.

The Iranian diplomat added that a number of initiatives have been put forward on ways to safeguard the JCPOA against Washington’s unilateralism, adding, “All signatories are determined not to allow the U.S. to impose its own will [on others] and unilaterally kill a deal that has the support of the international community and the Security Council.”

In turn, Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov wrote on Twitter that the Vienna meeting “demonstrated that its participants are fully committed to the nuclear deal and are determined to do their best to preserve it.”

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IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Iran says the overwhelming consensus among members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) against the U.S.’s push to reinstate all anti-Iran UN sanctions proves Washington’s isolation once again.

The Islamic Republic’s mission to the United Nations made the remarks in a statement on Tuesday, hours after the UNSC dismissed the controversial American bid because of a lack of consensus at the highest UN body over the so-called snapback of sanctions against Iran.

“Today, the overwhelming majority of the Security Council members rejected once again the admissibility of the recent letter” submitted by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “notifying” the council of Washington’s intention to “snap back,” or restore, all UN sanctions on Iran.

The statement reminded that “through individual or joint letters addressed to the Council’s President, 13 out of 15 members of the Security Council” as well as Iran “have already strongly refuted the legal merit of the US letter.”

The U.S.’s push comes while it has lost the right to enable re-imposition of the sanctions due to its 2018 departure from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and other countries — officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — that has been endorsed in the form of Security Council Resolution 2231.

The UN Security Council dismisses attempts by the U.S. to reinstate all UN sanctions against Iran due to a lack of consensus in the 15-member body over such a move.

The Iranian statement further said, “Given that the stated objective of the U.S. is to destroy Resolution 2231 and the JCPOA, Iran trusts that the Council members will continue preventing that country from undermining the UN, including the Security Council.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Indonesia’s UN Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, the UNSC’s president for August, said at a meeting on the Middle East that the 15-nation body was “not in the position to take further action” on the new US push.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet later that the UNSC members had to use a meeting on the Middle East, not Iran, to refute the US attempt “as null and void” after Washington prevented a debate at the Council about its “unlawful notification” a day earlier.

The new anti-Iran bid comes after the UNSC similarly snubbed a resolution drafted by the US to extend an arms embargo against Iran that will expire in October under the JCPOA.

The Iranian mission, meanwhile, pointed to the allegations that the United States has been using against Tehran in order to try and justify its anti-Iran campaigns throughout the world, including at the Security Council.

Washington ceaselessly accuses Iran of trying to “destabilize” the region and the world, alleging that the Iranian peaceful nuclear program features “diversion towards military purpose” with that end in mind.

“Regarding unfounded accusations against Iran raised in the Council meeting by the US, it must be stressed that almost all problems in the Middle East stem from the continued occupation of Palestine by the Israeli regime and its expansionist policies supported by the US, as well as the meddling, destabilizing policies and destructive practices of the United States, which cannot be covered up by no amount of smear campaign,” the mission said.

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IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

TEHRAN – Iran has hailed the UN Security Council’s rejection of unilateralism following the US failure to get the world body to extend a UN arms embargo on Iran.

Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht Ravanchi said all countries, especially members of the UN Security Council, are duty-bound to make every effort to uphold values, objectives and principles stipulated in the UN Charter.

The Security Council on Friday gave a “No” vote to a U.S.-drafted anti-Iran resolution.

“Appeasement has never served the common interests of humanity; on the contrary, it has only emboldened bullies,” he said.

“We are beholden to ourselves and the future generation, which will have to live with the consequences of our actions or inaction,” he said.

His comments came after the Security Council rejected the U.S. resolution to extend an arms embargo on Iran that is due to expire in October.

Only one member state voted in favor of the U.S. resolution, and all other members either rejected the resolution or abstained from voting.

Most international media claimed the U.S. has suffered a humiliating defeat at the United Nations as its proposal to extend a global arms embargo on Iran was resoundingly rejected by the member states with only one country supporting it.

In the Security Council vote on Friday, Washington got support only from the Dominican Republic for its resolution to indefinitely extend the embargo, leaving it far short of the minimum nine “yes” votes required for adoption.

Eleven members on the 15-member body, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, abstained.

Russia and China strongly opposed extending the 13-year ban, which was due to expire on October 18 under a 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran and six world powers.

The scale of the defeat on Friday underlined U.S. isolation on the world stage ahead of a major diplomatic confrontation that threatens to consume the Security Council and further sap its authority.

In his response to the vote, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, lashed out at other member states.

“The Security Council’s failure to act decisively in defense of international peace and security is inexcusable,” he said in a statement issued even before the result of the vote had been declared.

Zhang Jun, China’s ambassador to the UN, said in a statement that the result “once again shows that unilateralism receives no support and bullying will fail”.

Washington could now follow through on a threat to trigger a return of all UN sanctions on Iran using a provision in the nuclear deal, known as snapback, even though U.S. President Donald Trump had unilaterally abandoned the accord in 2018. On Thursday, the US had circulated to council members a six-page memo outlining why Washington remains a participant in the nuclear accord and still has the right to use the snapback provision.

In a statement after the vote, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft said Washington has “every right to initiate” the snapback mechanism, and added: “In the coming days, the United States will follow through on that promise to stop at nothing to extend the arms embargo.”

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According To Iran News, The United States deteriorated security in Persian Gulf, after it withdrew from the JCPOA two years ago, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov wrote on Twitter.

“Two years ago today #US withdrew from #JCPOA. Now we can see that this step resulted in deteriorated security in P. #Gulf, development of nuclear programme of #Iran beyond the agreed limits and desperate efforts of US to restore the status of a participant of the #IranDeal,” the tweet reads.

Washington re-imposed its sanctions on Iran in May 2018 after unilaterally withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal (also known as the JCPOA) between Tehran and world powers that has been endorsed by the UN Security Council.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced recently that Washington is preparing a legal argument that the US would remain a participant in the JCPOA –already renounced by the US president- as part of an intricate strategy to pressure the UN Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Tehran.

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According To Iran News, Noting that UNSCR 2231 and JCPOA are inseparable, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif explained the resolution to his American counterpart once again.

“@SecPompeo pretends UNSCR 2231 is independent from #JCPOA. He should READ 2231,” wrote Zarif on Tuesday tweet.

Stating that Pompeo did not read the text of the resolution, he added, “JCPOA is PART of 2231. That’s why it’s 104 pages—& why he’s not read it.”

“2231 for Dummies: It would NOT EXIST w/o JCPOA. US violated it & prevented others from complying. US has NO standing,” the Iranian diplomat said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to invoke a provision in the Iran nuclear agreement, which the Trump administration pulled out of in 2018, in an effort to either extend an arms embargo on Iran or reimpose even harsher United Nations (UN) sanctions, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

Last week, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also called on the UN Security Council to extend Iran’s arms embargo under the pretext of preventing a new arms race in the Middle East.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticized the bullying policies of the US regarding the nuclear deal and UN Security Council Resolution 2231

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According To Iran News, The US attempts to establish itself as ‘JCPOA participant’ have no legal grounds,” said Iran’s permanent representative to Vienna-based International Organizations.

Following Washington’s efforts to illegally extend arms embargo on Iran which will end in October 2020, Kazem Gharibabadi took to Twitter to cast some light on the issue.

“Para 10, UNSC Res 2231 is a reflection of para 1.2 Annex IV of the JCPOA which enumerates ‘JCPOA participants’,” he wrote.

The envoy noted that US President has already ceased participation in the deal on May 8, 2018, by announcing “… and I am today making good on my pledge to end the participation of the United States in the JCPOA.”

“The US has also ended its participation in practice, it has not participated in the meetings within the framework of the JCPoA since its unilateral withdrawal from the Deal,” Gharibabadi said, adding, “It has also violated all its commitments as a JCPoA participant and has spared no efforts to destroy it through re-imposition of sanctions and threatening others to be punished in case of trade with Iran.”

The UN arms embargo on Iran — in place since 2006/2007- will be lifted in October 2020 — five years after the JCPOA took effect.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that Washington was considering “every possibility” to renew the ban on selling conventional arms to Iran.

“We’re not going to let that happen,” he said, adding that the US administration is urging the three European signatories to the JCPOA “to take action which is within their capacity today.”

“We’ll work with the UN Security Council to extend that prohibition on those arms sales,” he continued.

US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said on Thursday that Washington had drafted a Security Council resolution on the issue and was “hopeful” the 15-member body will extend the arms embargo on Iran before it expires.

However, Russia and China, both parties to the JCPOA, are unlikely to allow that with their veto power.

To circumvent the veto, the US will argue that it legally remains a “participant state” in the nuclear deal only to invoke a “snapback” that would restore the UN sanctions, which had been in place against Iran prior to the JCPOA’s inking.

This is while the US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and re-imposed the anti-Iran sanctions that had been lifted under the agreement.

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According To Iran News, Iraq said it has filed a formal complaint with the United Nations and the UN Security Council over the US’ bombings of the country’s security, military and civilian sites that left six people dead.

A spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, said in a statement on Wednesday that the ministry has filed two identical complaints to the UN and the UNSC regarding the US targeting of Iraqi forces, the Middle East Monitor reported.

Al-Sahhaf added that the Foreign Ministry described the US bombing as a “hostile act and a flagrant violation of the terms of US troops presence in Iraq”.

On Friday, the United States launched a string of airstrikes against five sites belonging to the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), the Iraqi army and police in Babil governorate as well as Karbala International Airport which is still under construction. The air raids killed three Iraqi soldiers, two policemen, and a civilian, the Iraqi army said.

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According To Iran News, The details of the Kosovo police’s attack on UN staff member Mikhail Krasnoschekov in May are shocking, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said at the UN Security Council session on Thursday.

The United Nations Organization earlier announced results of the investigation into the Kosovo police’s operation on May 28. During the operation, two UN staff members, including Russian national Mikhail Krasnoschekov, were injured and detained. The investigation concluded that the actions of the Kosovo police were unlawful and in violation of the UN Security Council resolution.

“The details of the incident are shocking. Kosovo’s forces dragged him from the car using physical forces, hit his head on the driver’s door, hit him repeatedly with their hands, and then used special tools and handcuffs,” Nebenzya said, Tass reported.

“They pushed him into the backseat of his own car, where they continued to beat him,” the diplomat added. “Krasnoschekov’s identity card and driver’s license of a UN employee were taken, his cell phone was smashed,” he noted.

Moscow agrees with the UN investigation into an attack of Kosovo’s police on the international organization’s staff members, Nebenzya stated.

“These results are in line with the investigation launched by the Russian Investigative Committee,” he said. “Our investigators determined that [Kosovo’s] Special Forces aimed to hamper Krasnoschekov’s lawful activities which were carried out in full accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244,” he added.

“We demand an investigation and to punish those responsible for this crime,” Nebenzya said. “We think that the UN Security Council should decisively condemn this crime against UN staff members,” he added.

“However, the main thing here is the following. We see the aim of Kosovar-Albanian authorities to push the UN mission out. There are no more UN staff members in Kosovo’s north, and the mission in general has to work in the uneasy conditions of the de facto boycott from the authorities in Pristina,” he noted.

Nebenzya said that “the picture painted here shows the immaturity of Kosovar-Albanian forces.”

“In this context, we consider the issue of Kosovo’s accession to international organization, including Interpol, mistaken and groundless,” he concluded.

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According To Iran News, The Turkish and Syrian ambassadors clashed at their first UN Security Council encounter since Turkey launched a cross-border offensive earlier this month following the withdrawal of US forces.

Turkey’s ambassador, Feridun Sinirlioglu, called it a limited counter-terrorism operation “to eliminate the longstanding existential terror threat along our border with Syria” and “to enforce Syria’s territorial integrity and unity.”

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari told council members his government “condemns in the strongest terms the Turkish aggression, and vehemently rejects attempts by the Turkish regime to justify its actions under the pretext of self-defense or countering terrorism.”

The council met on Syria’s humanitarian situation, but the members’ top concerns were the state of a Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement that divides up the border region and prospects for next week’s first meeting of a committee that is supposed to draft a new Syrian constitution, AP reported.

Turkey views Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria as terrorists because of their links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, which has waged a 35-year conflict against the Turkish state. It justified sending troops into Syria as exercising its right to self-defense under the UN Charter.

“I therefore flatly reject and strongly condemn any misrepresentation of our counter-terrorism operation as an offensive or aggression,” Sinirlioglu told the council, saying that “Operation Peace Spring” launched by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Oct. 9 was strictly limited in nature.

Ja’afari accused Turkey of a “flagrant violation” of international law, the UN Charter and UN resolutions and dismissed its justifications for military action as “lies.”

“The aggression led to the occupation of Syria and the death and injury of hundreds of civilians” and massive displacement, he said.

The United Nation’s deputy humanitarian chief, Ursula Mueller, has said almost 180,000 people, including 80,000 children, fled their homes in northeastern Syria because of the offensive.

Ja’afari noted that many European council members on Thursday condemned Turkey’s military operation, but he accused the Europeans of creating the current situation.

“They provided on a plate of gold to Erdogan all the justifications he needed for his aggression,” he said. “Those countries played a vital role in sponsoring secessionist, illegitimate militias in the northeast of Syria.”

Russia’s ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, called the Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement “of key significance for stabilization in Syria.”

“We will continue to assist Syria and the Kurds as they seek to build comprehensive dialogue on pressing issues,” he said.

US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the US was lifting sanctions on Turkey after Erdogan’s government agreed to permanently stop fighting Kurdish forces in Syria.

Nebenzia said Syrian allies Russia and Iran as well as Turkey are seeking a political settlement to the Syrian conflict.

“We shall support the operations of the constitutional committee,” he said. “Our view is that the situation on the ground should not prevent the long-awaited launch of the committee with assistance from the United Nations next week.”

South African Ambassador Jerry Matjila, the current council president, expressed hope that the cease-fire will galvanize efforts and ideas to ensure the constitutional committee’s meeting in Geneva is a success, “because if that happens, then it is a good condition for a peaceful Syria.”

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