New York: At the UN Security Council, the US and its Western allies clashed with Russia and Iran over Tehran's advanced uranium enrichment and its alleged sale of combat drones to Moscow for use in attacking Ukraine.
The heated discussions took place at the council's semi-annual meeting on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers that the US withdrew from in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump.
Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia opened the meeting by accusing Britain, which is in charge of running the council, of trying to hold "an openly politicised show" by inviting Ukraine to the gathering even though it is not a party to the JCPOA. He demanded a vote on the participation's procedural status.
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Robert Wood, the deputy ambassador for the United States, retaliated by charging both Iran and Russia with breaking the 2015 resolution by taking part in the transfer of drones used in Ukraine without prior Security Council approval.
For the Ukrainian people, this is a life-or-death situation, according to Wood. "To deny Ukraine the chance to speak at this meeting when it is directly suffering the devastating effects of Iran's violation of resolution 2231 would be unconscionable."
The council meeting's moderator, British UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward, then requested a vote on Ukraine's participation. Mozambique abstained, China and Russia cast "no" votes, and twelve members said "yes."
Insisting that Resolution 2231 gives him the authority to launch an investigation, the US, Britain, France, and Ukraine have urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to dispatch investigators to Ukraine to look at drone debris from Russia's attacks.
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Nebenzia cautioned the UN Secretariat against taking any such action, and Russia maintains he lacks such authority. Amir Saeid Iravani, the ambassador of Iran to the UN, added that any conclusions made by the UN "based on such illegal activities is null and void."
In her briefing to the council, UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo stated that France, Germany, Ukraine, the UK, and the US had sent letters about alleged drone transfers from Iran to Russia and had provided images and their analyses of the recovered drones.
DiCarlo stated, "The Secretariat continues to examine the available information," without indicating if or when a UN investigation would occur.
Sergiy Kyslytsya, the UN ambassador for Ukraine, informed the council that more than 1,000 drone launches over the country had been observed, and analysis by Ukrainian and foreign experts had established their Iranian origin.
Nebenzia of Russia charged the West and Ukraine with spreading false information and mocked the supporting data.
In a joint statement, JCPOA signatories France, Germany, and the UK noted that Iran has been in violation of its nuclear commitments under the 2015 agreement for four years.
They cited reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency stating that Iran's total stockpiles of enriched uranium are currently 21 times greater than what was allowed under the 2015 nuclear agreement, as well as the IAEA's discovery in January of uranium particles with an enrichment level of 83.7 percent, which is almost at weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. Any uranium stockpile at that level could be quickly used by Iran to build an atomic bomb if it so desired.
Tehran's uranium stockpile was restricted to 300 kg and its level of enrichment to 3.67 percent by the 2015 nuclear agreement, which is sufficient to power a nuclear power plant. However, after the US withdrew, Tehran stepped up its nuclear programme and started producing uranium that had been purified to a level of 60%, which nonproliferation experts have already said Tehran cannot use for civilian purposes.
Iravani, the Iranian ambassador, and Nebenzia of Russia both claimed that the problem has been resolved after Iran informed the IAEA that "unintended fluctuations" in enrichment levels may have occurred and caused the particles to be enriched to 83.7 percent.
According to France, Germany, and the UK, Iran "continues to develop and improve ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons," citing a test on May 25 of a missile that can carry a warhead 2,000 kilometres away.
According to US Ambassador Wood, "Iran's ballistic missile activity is an ongoing threat to regional and global peace and security, especially in light of Tehran's nuclear ambitions and its threatening rhetoric."
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Iravani argued in opposition, saying that "Iran is fully determined to vigorously pursue its peaceful nuclear activities, including enrichment."
In August of last year, talks on the US rejoining the agreement and Iran fulfilling its obligations came to an end. The EU compromise text is still on the table, according to EU Ambassador Olof Skoog, "as a potential point of departure for any renewed effort to bring the JCPOA back on track." Iravani stated: "Should the other side be ready to do the same, we are still prepared for the resumption of negotiations."