The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, stated that his country “considers UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to be terminated, and the United Nations should act accordingly,” explaining that “Resolution 2231 affirms Iran’s right to enrich uranium.” Baghaei added that “15 documents from the International Atomic Energy Agency confirm Tehran’s compliance with its obligations,” emphasizing the need for the European Troika to show genuine willingness in nuclear file negotiations.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry officially announced last Saturday its stance regarding the resolution issued in July 2015, which imposed restrictions on its nuclear program. The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s statement declared, “The Iranian nuclear file should be removed from the Security Council’s agenda and treated like any non-nuclear-armed state’s nuclear program that is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
The statement added that “the primary goal of including the nuclear file was to ensure the peaceful nature of the nuclear program and prevent its military use, a goal that has been fully achieved,” noting that Iran has adhered to “additional commitments within the nuclear agreement while remaining under unjust sanctions,” and that “the three European countries (Britain, Germany, France), the European Union, and the United States have violated their commitments.”
The statement clarified that “the unlawful actions of the European Troika to reimpose previous Security Council resolutions were motivated by compliance with the United States, which unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018,” affirming that these attempts “do not affect the legal arrangements of Resolution 2231, nor its expiration date.”
The statement pointed out that “six member states of the Security Council, including two permanent members, rejected the unlawful actions, and Iran, along with China and Russia, sent joint messages to the UN Secretary-General to confirm this position.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed in a tweet that Resolution 2231 should be considered terminated as of October 18, meaning all restrictions on the Iranian nuclear program should be lifted.
Resolution 2231 was issued on July 20, 2015, as part of the (nuclear agreement) to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program and prevent its diversion for military purposes, setting a ten-year timeframe for implementing relevant restrictions and mechanisms. After the United States withdrew from the agreement in May 2018, the three European countries (Britain, France, Germany) attempted to activate the dispute resolution mechanism (trigger) to reimpose previous Security Council resolutions on Iran, claiming non-compliance by Iran, which Iran completely rejected and considered an illegal step with no effect on the expiration of Resolution 2231.
