UN, December 12. /TASS/. The UN Secretariat cannot investigate the activity of Iran without a permission from the UN Security Council, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia said.
"We have to remind you that the Secretariat cannot carry out any investigations into possible breaches of Resolution 2231 (in support of the Iranian nuclear deal - TASS) without a clear mandate by the Security Council," he said on Wednesday during the UN Security Council session on Iran. "Any inspectional or observer activity of the Secretariat, no matter its intentions, must be stopped once and for all," the Russian diplomat said.
"We shall leave out the level of technical expertise of the representatives of the Secretariat, who are quick to discuss the tactical and technical characteristics of various types of missiles judging by separate parts and debris, and to hint on their Iranian origin," Nebenzya stated. "Well-founded questions about these specialists’ mandate arise, about the status of their trips and their authority to make far-reaching conclusions."
Accusations aimed at Iran
On December 1, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that Tehran had tested a medium-range ballistic missile in breach of the UN resolution. According to him, the missile in question is capable of carrying multiple warheads. In response to that, Iranian Armed Forces Spokesman Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said that the country would continue missile tests to improve its defense capabilities.
Members of the UN Security Council have so far failed to reach consensus on whether Iran’s missile test constituted a violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, adopted in support of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran did not take part in the Security Council consultations. The Islamic Republic’s diplomatic mission to the UN stressed that "all ballistic missile related activities of Iran are in full conformity with the relevant provisions of resolution 2231." In Tehran’s opinion, it is the United States’ withdrawal from JCPOA "that is in absolute violation of the very same resolution."
Iran nuclear deal issue
In 2015, Iran and six major powers (five member states of the United Nations Security Council - Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and China - and Germany) agreed on the final Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which particularly stipulated the removal of sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program.
On May 8, US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. He said that old sanctions on Iran would be restored and new ones would be introduced in case Tehran attempted to pursue its nuclear ambitions. The first round of new US sanctions on Iran took effect on August 7, and the second one came into force on Monday.
Following Trump’s decision to pull out of the JCPOA, the leaders of Great Britain, Germany and France called on other participants in the deal to continue fulfilling it. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran would not abandon the JCPOA and would continue to comply with its obligations. Lavrov said that Russia would seek to maintain the agreement despite US sanctions against Iran.
