Adopting anti-Iran resolution during JCPOA talks violated spirit of accord

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi says the measure taken by the United States and its European allies to pass an anti-Tehran resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) while talks on the revival of the 2015 deal were underway was a violation of the letter and spirit of the accord.

Raeisi made the remarks in a Monday meeting with the new Swiss ambassador to Tehran Nadine Olivieri Lozano, during which he expressed Iran’s readiness to boost trade, economic and political relations with all countries to a maximum level, including Switzerland.

Reflecting on the recent anti-Iranian resolution adopted by the IAEA’s Board of Governors, which was drafted by the US and its European allies, Raeisi said the measure “taken while the negotiations were underway to reach an agreement [on the revival of the 2015 deal] was irresponsible and violated the spirit of the talks and agreement, and exposed the conflict in their approach [to Iran].”

“The United States must make a decision to abide by the requirements of the negotiations and the agreement,” Iran’s chief executive said.

Pointing to "miscalculations" of the US and Europe about Iran, Raeisi expressed hope that the new Swiss envoy would convey the existing realities in Iran to Switzerland and other countries so that they would understand that Tehran has managed to make progress despite hostile approaches and that their arrogant policies have backfired.

The IAEA's Board of Governors adopted the resolution on June 8, accusing Iran of not cooperating with the agency. The resolution was approved with 30 votes in favor, two against and three abstentions.

It came as Iran and the five remaining parties to the multilateral deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), have held several rounds of negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna since April last year to restore the agreement, which was unilaterally abandoned by former US President Donald Trump in May 2018.

In quitting the agreement, Trump restored sanctions on Iran as part of what he called the “maximum pressure” campaign against the country. Those sanctions are being enforced to this day by the Joe Biden administration, even though it has repeatedly acknowledged that the policy has been a mistake and a failure.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Friday that the JCPOA revival talks can succeed if the United States acts realistically and provides Tehran with robust guarantees that it will be able to fully reap the economic benefits of the deal.

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