UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council on Monday unanimously endorsed the landmark deal to rein in Iran’s nuclear program and authorized measures leading to the end of U.N. sanctions, but also approved a provision that would automatically reinstate the harsh measures if Tehran reneges on its promises.
European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels immediately followed suit, endorsing the agreement between Iran and six major powers and taking the first step to lift EU sanctions.
Key PROVISIONS OF the U.N.-APPROVED RESOLUTION
• ENDORSEMENT: The resolution endorses the landmark deal, urges its full implementation and calls on all countries, regional and international organizations to take actions needed to implement it.
• U.N. NUCLEAR AGENCY: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency must verify and monitor Iran’s nuclear-related commitments and the resolution says “Iran shall cooperate fully as the IAEA requests to be able to resolve all outstanding issues.”
• U.N. SANCTIONS: When Iran has completed a series of major steps to curb its nuclear program, and the IAEA has concluded that “all nuclear material in Iran remains in peaceful activities,” seven U.N. Security Council resolutions related to sanctions against Iran will be terminated.
• REIMPOSING U.N. SANCTIONS: If one of the parties to the nuclear deal, like the United States, determines that Iran is not fulfilling its commitments, it can ask for a Security Council vote on a new resolution to continue the lifting of all U.N sanctions resolutions on Iran. When a vote takes place, the U.S. or the four other permanent members of the Security Council – Russia, China, Britain and France – could then veto the resolution, and the sanctions would automatically “snap back” in 30 days. Thus, by voting down a resolution on continuing lifting the sanctions, the Council would effectively be putting them back in place.
• TERMINATION: All provisions of the U.N. resolution will terminate in 10 years, including the “snap back” provision, and the resolution states that “the Security Council will have concluded its consideration of the Iranian nuclear issue.”
– The Associated Press
President Obama told reporters he hopes the Republican-controlled Congress, where there is strong opposition to the deal, will pay attention to the “broad international consensus,” stressing that the deal is “by far our strongest approach to ensuring that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon.”
But House Speaker John Boehner accused Obama of “ignoring the concerns of the American people” by allowing “such a consequential vote” to go ahead in the U.N. just 24 hours after submitting the agreement to Congress, which has 60 days to consider it. “This is a bad start for a bad deal,” he said.
While sharp differences remain between the United States and Iran, ambassadors from both countries called the agreement an important achievement for diplomacy.
Under the agreement, Iran’s nuclear program will be curbed for a decade in exchange for potentially hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of relief from international sanctions. Many key penalties on the Iranian economy, such as those related to the energy and financial sectors, could be lifted by the end of the year.
Iran insists its nuclear program is purely peaceful, aimed at producing nuclear energy and medical isotopes, but the United States and its Western allies believe Tehran’s real goal is to build atomic weapons. Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo reiterated that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared nuclear weapons “Haram,” which means forbidden by the Muslim faith in Arabic.
Khoshroo said Iran promises to be “resolute in fulfilling its obligations” and expects all other parties to the agreement to meet their commitments. This is the only way diplomacy can “prevail over conflict and war in a world that is replete with violence, suffering and oppression,” he said.
The Iranian ambassador said the agreement “provides a solid foundation for further and more effective diplomatic interaction.”
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