UN Chief Urges Support for Iran’s Economy amid Pandemic

Guterres on Tuesday expressed regret in a report to the Security Council that the trump administration withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions against Tehran, AP reported.

The UN chief also urged Tehran to return to “full implementation” of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

For the last five years the nuclear deal “has been largely viewed by the international community as a testament to the efficacy of multilateralism, diplomacy and dialogue, and a success in nuclear nonproliferation”, he added.

Guterres recounted the US actions and Security Council response in the report and stressed again “the importance of initiatives in support of trade and economic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially during the current economic and health challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic .”

Iran has so far rowed back on its nuclear commitments in compliance with Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA after the US withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and reinstated the anti-Iran Sanctions and Europe failed to honor its obligations.

The Islamic Republic has voiced its readiness to reverse the suspension of its commitments under the multilateral nuclear deal if other parties return to the accord and abide by their own obligations.

Recently, a double-urgency draft bill was recently approved by the Iranian Parliament. The measure has mandated the government to limit the UN nuclear watchdog’s regulatory access and tasked it with empowering the country’s nuclear program further in retaliation for the Western non-commitment to the nuclear accord

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