Iran’s letter to the Security Council: We have never enriched uranium above 60%

According to the foreign policy group Tasnim news agency, the representative Iran in the United Nations In response to the letter dated November 14, 2023 of the permanent representatives of France, Germany and the United Kingdom in the United Nations, which representatives of the troika made baseless accusations against Iran and claimed that Iran have violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015) while ignoring their own clear violation of the resolution, sent a letter to the Security Council. In this letter, the claims raised are rejected. Below is:

1. In their joint letter, the Troika has deliberately published misleading and false information about Iran’s obligations under the JCPOA and its peaceful nuclear program. The Troika has falsely accused Iran of not adhering to JCPOA commitments and has deliberately ignored the main reasons for the current JCPOA situation. Iran’s decision to take corrective measures is fully in line with its inherent rights under Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA and was a response to the illegal unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the agreement on May 8, 2018 and the subsequent non-compliance by the Troika. The goal of Iran’s decision, which came a full year after the illegal withdrawal of the United States and the EU/E3’s failure to fulfill its sanctions lifting commitments, was quite clear: to restore the balance of mutual obligations and interests under the JCPOA. This became necessary when the JCPOA for Iran’s nuclear-related obligations, in exchange for the comprehensive cancellation of sanctions, should remove the sanctions that have been illegally imposed by the United States and the European Union, and also remove the obstacles to Iran’s international economic, commercial and financial cooperation. The obvious nature of this fact in no way provides any justification or valid basis for E3 to refuse to fulfill its obligations.

2. The Islamic Republic of Iran has always adhered to its obligations under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) and has provided maximum cooperation so that the International Atomic Energy Agency can effectively implement its verification activities in Iran. Regarding the amendment code 3.1 of the subsidiary arrangements, it is noted that the acceptance of the implementation of the amendment code 3.1 was one of the measures of transparency and confidence building, which is reflected in paragraph 65 of the annex of JCPOA. As part of Iran’s decision to suspend implementation of all voluntary transparency measures beyond the Safeguards Agreement, implementation of Revised Code 3.1 has been suspended. However, it must be emphasized that Iran continues to implement Code 3.1 of the Subsidiary Arrangements with the full cooperation of the IAEA.

3. Iran has never enriched uranium above 60%. Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in clarifying the origin of uranium particles containing 83.7 percent U-235 enabled the agency to confirm that no deviations have been made in this regard. In his September 2023 report (Gov/2023/39), the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Iran’s explanation of the origin of such particles, and the agency confirmed that it had found no indication of stockpiling and stockpiling of nuclear material enriched above 60 percent.

4. In November 2022, Iran notified the International Atomic Energy Agency of its intention to enrich uranium at Fordow through advanced centrifuges. This decision was taken in the framework of Iran’s corrective measures in response to the non-compliance of other parties to the JCPOA obligations and in accordance with their rights based on the NPT and CSA. In addition, as already stated by Iran to the IAEA, the production of uranium metal is part of the fuel for research reactors with medical purposes.

5. The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly emphasizes that the countries that are parties to the NPT Treaty should not refrain from exercising and enjoying their inalienable rights based on this treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in accordance with the first and second articles. be prohibited by the treaty.

6. The E3’s failure to implement its commitments to lift sanctions as specified in paragraph 20 of Annex V of the JCPOA on the transition day (October 18, 2023) is a unilateral and unjustified action. This illegal action is considered as a clear and explicit example of the significant non-implementation of their obligations and as a result violates both the JCPOA and UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015).

7. E3’s reference to the JCPOA Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM) citing the letter dated January 14, 2020, in response to Iran’s corrective measures from May 2019 onwards, is completely misleading and irrelevant. As mentioned before, Iran’s decision was a legal and legitimate response to the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA and the reimposition of illegal sanctions on this country, considering its rights based on paragraphs 26 and 36 of the JCPOA. Therefore, it is completely illogical and unjustifiable to characterize the E3’s decision not to fulfill its commitments to lift sanctions on the day of the transition as a reaction to Iran’s legal reform measures.

8. The failure of the EU/E3 to adhere to its obligations under Article 20 of Annex V to the JCPOA, together with the inability of the United States to meet its obligations as set out in Article 21 of Annex V, due to its illegal unilateral withdrawal on 8 May 2018, caused The Islamic Republic of Iran has made use of its legitimate rights according to clauses 26 and 36 of JCPOA. After that, Iran had no other option but to refrain from fulfilling its obligations based on paragraph 22.1 of Appendix V of the JCPOA.

9. As notified by the Secretariat to all Permanent Representatives and Observers of UN Member States on 19 October 2023, all unjustified restrictions on ballistic missile-related activities and transfers to/from Iran, including the freezing of assets of individuals and entities listed in 2231 , terminated automatically. Consequently, any restrictions imposed at the national or regional level pursuant to resolution 2231 (2015) are now null and void.

10. The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to resume the full implementation of its obligations under the JCPOA after the full implementation of the obligations of the members. Iran entered the negotiations with good faith and serious negotiations to bring the Vienna negotiations to a conclusion. Unfortunately, the United States and E3 could not take advantage of this opportunity due to their domestic politics and contradictory anti-Iranian policies, as well as their unrealistic demands.

end of message/