Iran Press/Iran news: Reacting to the Saturday tweets of the French Ambassador to the US, Gerard Araud, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on the French government to take a clear position.
According to Iran Press, Araud wrote on his Tweeter account that “it’s false to say that at the expiration of the JCPOA, Iran will be allowed to enriching uranium. Under the NPT and its additional protocol, it will have to prove, under strict monitoring, that its nuclear activities are civilian.” “As we said in 2002 that enriching uranium without a credible civilian program was illegal under the NPT, we’ll be able to react likewise in 2025 if necessary. Sanctions were imposed. Sanctions could be re-imposed. There is no “sunset” after the JCPOA,” he added.
Araghchi tweeted in response: “If tweets by @GerardAraud represent French position, we're facing a major violation of the object and purpose of the JCPOA and UNSCR 2231. Needs immediate clarification by Paris, or we act accordingly.”
Repeated baseless US accusations of Iran violating UNSC resolution 2231
Earlier on March 8, 2019, America's acting ambassador to the United Nations, Jonathan Cohen, in a letter to the UN security council, accused Iran of violating UNSC resolution 2231.
Cohen said Iran has tested one ballistic missile, and launched two satellites, urging the world body to restore 'tougher international sanctions' against Tehran, Iran Press reported.
“Iran has carried out these three launches in defiance of the expressed will of the UN Security Council, and such provocations continue to destabilize the entire Middle East region,” Cohen claimed.
The United States has always tried to have a monopoly in sensitive and advanced technologies.
Meanwhile, the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif has emphasized that UNSC resolution 2231 does not ban Iran's missile programme.
Zarif said such activities are not prohibited under Resolution 2231, which merely 'calls on' Iran 'to refrain from any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.'
Zarif also pointed out that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons of any kind, and that none of Iran's missiles have been designed to carry nuclear weapons.
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Commenting on US officials, Zarif poignantly said: "US officials obviously don't understand JCPOA. We expected as much. Anyone who has read and understood the nuclear deal, JCPOA, will know that launching satellites into space and testing missiles is not a violation of UNSC resolution 2231."
Foreign minister Zarif's comments have been confirmed and supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency on several occasions in the past.
France’s newly appointed ambassador to Tehran summoned to Foreign Ministry
Only hours after appointment, France’s new ambassador to Tehran Philippe Thiebaud was summoned to the Foreign Ministry by the head of Iran's JCPOA secretariat, Seyyed Hossein Meydani.
The action was taken in response to an earlier comment by France's ambassador to Washington, Gerard Araud, who tweeted on 13 April that “it’s false to say that at the expiration of the JCPOA, Iran will be allowed to enrich uranium.” 103/211/203
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