UN Security Council Members Breaking the Law Yet Again

Zakharova reports

On 15 September, Maria Zakharova commented on a statement made on 14 September by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on the plans of the United Kingdom, Germany and France to take steps contrary to UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which is known as the JCPOA, or simply as the Iran Nuclear Deal. The UK and France are veto wielding UN Security Council members who ought to set an example when it comes to obeying UNSC Resolutions. But as we’ve seen since NATO proved itself to be an aggressive military bloc, not a defensive alliance as it proclaims, these two members along with their Master the Outlaw US Empire have attempted to replace International Law based on the UN Charter and UNSC resolutions with what it calls the “rules based order.” Borrell’s statement should be seen as yet another attempt to do that, which in this case means breaking a major UNSC resolution. And his statement comes on the threshold of the annual high-level week of the 78th United Nations General Assembly.

It should also be noted that Iran has essentially freed itself from Western shackles although it remains beset by many illegal sanctions. It’s regional prominence is greater than ever and there’s no way it can be deemed isolated, although that’s what the West dreams. The reality is Iran is by no means hemmed-in and daily becomes a stronger nation, which the West clearly recognizes thus its further illegal efforts to make life difficult. Ms. Zakharova will now tell the story:

On September 14, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell made a statement in his capacity as coordinator of the JCPOA Joint Commission and informed it of the appeal addressed to him by the foreign ministers of Great Britain, Germany and France. The ministers officially notified him of their intention not to take steps to lift the temporary restrictions contained in UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which expire on October 18.

We are talking about the provisions relating to Iran's missile program, as well as the "freezing" of the assets of a number of individuals and legal entities of Iran. These requirements have nothing to do with the settlement around the Iranian nuclear program and therefore were introduced on a temporary basis. They were not supposed to be extended.

To make it appear that their intention does not contradict the letter of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, Berlin, London and Paris referred to their efforts in January 2020 to launch the "dispute settlement mechanism" provided for in paragraph 36 of the JCPOA.

Within the framework of the Joint Commission, the current appeal of the "Eurodeuce" and the British was not considered. No decisions that could be perceived as consent or a "green light" were made by the countries participating in the JCPOA.

From a legal point of view, the course they have outlined is arbitrary, which indicates their loss of interest in restoring the full implementation of the JCPOA and their unwillingness to eliminate their violations of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

References to the "dispute resolution mechanism" are intended for the uninformed public and should not be misleading. It is known that this mechanism was not activated due to the lack of the necessary procedures and decisions of the Joint Commission. Without clarity on this matter, it turned out to be impossible to "turn on the clock" and start working within the framework of the mechanism. The Russian side has repeatedly and in the most detailed way provided explanations on this sensitive issue, including on January 14 and 24, 2020.

We strongly condemn the desire of Great Britain, Germany and France to deliberately violate the requirements of the JCPOA and UN Security Council Resolution 2231. If their intention is realized, it will deal a crushing blow to the prospects for restoring the nuclear deal. I would not like to think that it was not by chance that the attacks of the Europeans followed exactly at the moment when there were certain prerequisites for intensifying efforts towards "restarting" the JCPOA, created by progress in the mediated dialogue between Iran and the United States.

We urge the European parties to the JCPOA to immediately reconsider their destructive course and ensure strict compliance with their international obligations in strict accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2231. The expectation that they will be able to "reface" the resolution's invalid requirements and turn them into a new sanctions regime against Iran is absolutely illusory. Contrary to Western speculations, the resolution does not prohibit, but allows cooperation with Tehran in the missile sphere, subject to the approval of supplies to the UN Security Council. In Berlin, London and Paris, they mistakenly interpreted this as an embargo, being confident in their ability to block supplies that did not suit them. From October 18, everything will fall into place.

We proceed from the premise that illegal decisions of individual countries taken at the national level, dictated by purely opportunistic considerations, obviously cannot entail legal consequences for other states. We condemn the vicious practice of unilateral sanctions and their extraterritorial application – an ugly manifestation of the "rules-based world order" promoted by the West. [My Emphasis]

Ms. Zakharova’s concluding words are clearly aimed at the Global South members of the UNSC as well as the overall Global South. The timing by Borrell is quite poor as this year’s UNGA agenda was set by Global South nations as Global Times reports:

Starting from Monday, the high-level week of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will begin and last until September 26. Compared to previous ones, this year's UNGA has placed a greater emphasis on the "Global South" countries. Several high-level meetings to be held during the General Assembly will focus on the priorities of developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, including climate, health and financing. Countries in the South have also influenced and responded to the agendas of the UNGA with a stronger spirit of unity and cooperation as well as a sense of "being the host." The director of an international think tank believes that "this is a year when the countries of the Global South have set the agenda."

For this year's high-level week of the UNGA, Secretary-General António Guterres has long had high hopes, hoping to "help rescue the Sustainable Development Goals." The term "rescue" reveals the current difficulties faced by global development, and also reflects the unbridgeable rift between developing and developed countries. What Guterres mentioned is a fundamental change in the current international situation, that is, the collective rise of developing countries, which brings a call for a more just and reasonable international order. Meanwhile, established major powers such as the US and the West are trying hard to maintain their dominance and resorting to every possible means to discredit, attack and suppress this call. It must be said that this contradiction is the deep factor causing the current geopolitical division. [My Emphasis]

The 2030 SDGs require the application of mostly fossil fuel energy for them to be attained, a situation that goes against the West’s desire to limit such energy use though CO2 emission restrictions. Thus, the attempt to break UNSC 2231 can be seen as being comparable to the twisting of UNSC 1970 to enable NATO to attack Libya, kill its leader, steal its resources, and turn it into the failed state it is today—a very serious crime against humanity that has yet to see justice applied.

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