Political official hails Iran-Israel truce, calls for diplomacy on Iran nukes deal
By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – Head of the political affairs Rosemary DiCarlo on Tuesday briefed the UNSC members noted that a fragile ceasefire brokered by the US between Iran and Israel appears to be holding, marked a tentative halt to a dangerous regional escalation that included airstrikes, retaliatory missile attacks and mounting civilian casualties.
She has renewed the call for a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear issue, warning that the objectives of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the resolution that endorsed it remain unmet.
She addressed the Council and revived the deal after the dramatic military escalation of the past 12 days.
Rosemary DiCarlo said the fragile ceasefire announced by Donald Trump overnight provided “an opportunity to avoid a catastrophic escalation and achieve a peaceful resolution of the Iran nuclear issue.”
The 2015 Iran nuclear deal –JCPOA and backed by the Security Council offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for strict limits on uranium enrichment, stockpile levels and centrifuge use, and robust monitoring and verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency
She noted that the accord has remained in limbo since the US withdrew in 2018, followed by Iran’s roll backs of its nuclear-related commitments.
The key provisions under resolution 2231 set to expire on 18 October unless the Council decides otherwise.
Ms. DiCarlo has warned that the window for reviving diplomacy is narrowing.
She stressed that with less than 4 months before resolution’s nuclear-related restrictions are set to expire on 18 October unless extended by the Council, she warned that the agreement’s key aims remain elusive.
Ms. DiCarlo told council members the recent surge in violence had significantly undermined diplomatic momentum.
“The military escalation between Israel and Iran since 13 June and United States air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities on 21 June complicated prospects for achieving full implementation of resolution 2231,” Ms. DiCarlo said.
She said that “Iran’s strikes yesterday on a base in Qatar further exacerbated insecurity in an already tense region.”
Ms. DiCarlo noted that efforts “did not produce a way forward” to restore full JCPOA implementation.
A sixth round of talks was called off due to the outbreak of hostilities, despite five rounds of bilateral talks between Iran and the US, facilitated by Oman in recent months.
According to Iranian authorities, at least 606 people were killed and more than 5,300 injured since hostilities erupted on 13 June. Israeli officials reported 28 deaths and nearly 1,500 injuries.
Ms. DiCarlo said JCPOA participants – China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia, and the United Kingdom – had all reiterated their commitment to finding a diplomatic solution.
In a joint statement shared with the Secretary-General in March, China, Iran and Russia stressed the importance of resolution 2231’s provisions and timelines. China separately proposed a “step-by-step and reciprocal approach” to settle the nuclear issue.
“Diplomacy, dialogue and verification remain the best option to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme,” Ms. DiCarlo said.
European Union stressed that “a lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear issue can only be through a negotiated deal, not military action.
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis underscored the urgent need “to come back to a diplomatic solution.”
He said that Iran does not acquire or develop a nuclear weapon remains a key security priority for the EU.
He added that Iran’s accelerating nuclear activities and the absence of IAEA oversight compounded by the economic fallout from US sanctions have undermined the JCPOA, despite sustained EU efforts to preserve it through diplomacy.
Mr. Lambrinidis reaffirmed that diplomacy must prevail, with the IAEA remaining central to monitoring and verification efforts going forward.
US acting Ambassador Dorothea Shea said Iran’s increase in nuclear activity lacked “any credible civilian justification.”
She noted, “it is regrettable that certain members of this Council have opted to turn a blind eye to, if not encourage, Iranian noncompliance,” after the IAEA Board of Governors found it noncompliant with nuclear safeguards.
The US “will not turn a blind eye to Iran’s noncompliance and ongoing threat to regional stability,” she continued.
Ms. Shea said the 21 June “precision operation effectively fulfilled our narrow objective to degrade Iran’s capacity to produce a nuclear weapon,” after which President Trump coordinated a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
“In this critical moment,” she concluded, “we must all urge Iran to seize this opportunity for peace and prosperity and abide by its international obligations.”
British Ambassador Barbara Woodward welcomed the ceasefire brokered by President Trump but warned that “the situation remains extremely fragile.”
She expressed that “now is the time for a return to diplomacy,” she urged Iran to engage in talks without delay, warning that its nuclear programme has exceeded “any credible civilian justification.”
Ms. Woodward said all diplomatic levers will be deployed for a negotiated outcome and to “ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon.”
Iranian Ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, said that his country “never initiated this war” and that “once the aggressors stopped their attacks, Iran stopped its lawful military response as well”.
Mr. Saeid expressed his country’s strong commitment to diplomacy as the path through which differences can and should be resolved.
“Iran continues to believe that a diplomatic resolution to nuclear and sanction issues is possible,” Mr. Saeid said.
He called on the Security Council to condemn Israel’s and the United States’ attacks on Iran and their IAEA-protected nuclear facilities and work to ensure that they never happen again.
Ambassador Iravani added that Iran upheld Council resolution 2231 and the JCPOA, and that remedial measures were “fully consistent” with these two instruments.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon defended Israel military operation against Iran, described it as a necessary move to neutralize a “double existential threat” from Tehran’s nuclear and missile programmes.
He said Israel achieved complete air superiority and removed key regime targets, acting in coordination with the US.
Ambassador Danon accused Iran of deceiving the world for years, using diplomacy as cover to advance its nuclear weapons programme.
“There is still time,” he said, “to take meaningful and decisive action to ensure that the threat of a nuclear Iran does not return stronger than before.”
He concluded his remarks “We are often told that diplomacy must be given a chance it was given every chance, every round, every channel, every deadline but so far it has failed, the regime in Tehran never had any intention of complying.”
Slovenia envoy the Council’s facilitator for the implementation of resolution 2231 (2015), called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action “undoubtedly one of the greatest achievements of multilateralism in the past decade.”
He noted that it brought about a robust regime that comprehensively addressed a pressing international security issue.
It has suffered setbacks in recent years, he noted, expressing regret that the United States withdrew from it and “Iran gradually made several steps away from its JCPOA commitments”.
The re-establishment of Iranian constructive engagement with IAEA is key and will help the country to regain the international community’s confidence about its nuclear activities.
The latest IAEA reports have indicated Iran’s continuous and rapid expansion of its uranium-enrichment activities and the IAEA Director General’s comprehensive assessment has concluded that the Agency is not in a position to verify that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.
“As a result of this persistent trust gap which Iran has long dismissed and failed to properly address we have witnessed a military conflict unfold over the past 12 days, which has been a source of grave concern for us,” he said. It is critical that the IAEA’s monitoring and verification activities continue without hindrance. “As a first step, we therefore expect Iran to fully guarantee the IAEA’s unhindered access in the aftermath of the ceasefire,” he said.
China and Pakistan, Moscow proposed a draft Council resolution in search for a peaceful solution to the concerns surrounding the Iranian nuclear programme.
It will propose an updated version that considers the latest developments to ensure the sustainability of the ceasefire.
Iran’s representative pledged that “once the aggressors stop the attacks, Iran will stop its lawful military response as well”. Nevertheless, “Iran will not overlook the deceit and double standards,” he said, adding: Its armed forces remain fully prepared to respond to any violations.
“The wrong large-scale war they thought could force Iran into so-called unconditional surrender and make it abandon its peaceful nuclear programme has failed more clearly than ever. Diplomacy and dialog are the only path to resolving the unnecessary crisis over Iran’s peaceful programme.”
“Israel is a peaceful nation — we pray for peace three times a day,” said that country’s representative; however, he warned: “We will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire and to any threat facing our people.” Tehran has been violating resolution 2231 (2015) with impunity “for as long as it existed”, he stressed, but the Council “just refused to see it”.
He said that the international community “now knows what Israel has known for a long time Iran was working on the key elements for a nuclear bomb in hidden facilities protected from international view”.
And Israel took action to dismantle what the world allowed to grow unchecked.
