Iran considers compliance with the nuclear agreement "inseparable" from the lifting of the arms embargo

At the last session of the United Nations Security Council on Iran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned that the lifting of the arms embargo against Iran is "inseparable" from the preservation of the nuclear agreement signed in 2015, under the name of the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA). "The timetable for the elimination of arms restrictions set out in Security Council resolution 2231 is an inseparable part of the hard-won commitment," the foreign minister said.

Zarif's statements come just two days after it became known that the United States, along with Saudi Arabia, was calling for an extension of the arms embargo on the Islamic Republic, which is set to expire next October after 13 years. At a joint press conference held in the Kingdom's capital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and the US special representative to Iran, Brian Hook, the two officials said they saw the Islamic Republic "as a serious danger, not only to regional stability, but also to international stability. "It is the main financier of terrorism. The international community needs to be more assertive in its dealings with the Iranians," the Saudi diplomat strongly criticized. 

In this line, Saudi Arabia has once again warned in this Tuesday's session of the Security Council that the objective of the Islamic Republic is not only "to destabilize the region of the Middle East, but the world in general", according to Al-Arabiya. The Kingdom relies on the fact that Tehran has sent weapons to militias in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, contributing to the "spread of terrorism" in those countries. Similarly, it has denounced its collaboration with the Hutu militia fighting in Yemen, in a civil war that has generated the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. The Hutus, according to Riyadh, are said to have launched as many as 1,659 attacks against civilian targets in the course of the conflict, which broke out five years ago. 

Saudi Arabia has also welcomed the report published by the United Nations confirming Iran's direct involvement in the attacks on the Saudi Aramco, Abqaiq and Khurais refineries last September. "The investigation demonstrates Iran's hostile intentions towards the Kingdom", they have stated from Riyadh. "We will not allow any transgression of its borders or any damage to our national security," they added, demanding the extension of the arms embargo on the Islamic Republic. 

The UN Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding, Rosemary DiCarlo, presented the latest results of the study of the attacks on the Saudi oil giant at the Council meeting. The conclusion is that, according to the technical findings and taking into account the information provided by Iran, the cruise missiles and hang glider drones, or parts of them, that were used in the offensive against the Kingdom ten months ago were of "Iranian origin", since it has been possible to prove that the digital information provided by the seized artifacts is "identical" to that being developed in the Islamic Republic. Furthermore, they were exported from Iran to Yemen - from where the attack was launched - between 2016 and 2018, the official said. 

On June 12th, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres confirmed the Iranian origin of the weapons in a report to which Reuters had access. At the time, the document stated that "the seized items are of a similar design to those produced by a commercial entity in Iran" and that "they bear markings in Farsi".

DiCarlo has launched a dart in favour of Tehran, assuring that the future of the nuclear agreement with Iran, the JCPOA that was signed in 2015, "is in doubt", and has asked to guarantee its maintenance, since he considers that "it continues to be the best way to guarantee the exclusive nature of the Iranian nuclear programme". "Its full implementation, as well as full respect for resolution 2231 [adopted in support of the pact], is essential for regional stability," she stressed, who has also criticized the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States with the approval of other regional actors such as Saudi Arabia. "These actions have impeded the ability of Iran and other member states - France, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and Germany - to fully comply with the plan and resolution 2231," she reiterated.

The rest of the world powers have also shown their rejection of the policy based on unilateralism undertaken by the Trump Administration. Only a few weeks ago, France, Germany and the United Kingdom once again jointly expressed their "regret and concern at the decision of the US to withdraw from the JCPOA and to again impose sanctions against Iran". China has also called on the White House to stop its unilateral sanctions against Tehran and has condemned the pressure exerted by Washington to extend the arms embargo beyond October.

"The efforts of the US government do not seem to have international support, not even from its European allies, who are other signatories of the nuclear pact. Moreover, they could increase tensions between the United States and Europe", they say on Hispan TV.