Envoy: Using nuclear energy is Iran inalienable right

'Iran is determined to vigorously continue to exercise its inalienable rights to nuclear energy, including development of a full national nuclear fuel cycle, for peaceful purposes. It is essential for its socio-economic development,' Eshaq Al Habib said in a statement addressing the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Agenda Item 92: Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The full text of Al Habib's speech at the UN meeting is as follows:

Mr. President,

I thank the distinguished Director-General of the IAEA for his report.

Nowadays, nuclear energy is part and parcel of the socio-economic development of our societies. Accordingly, all States, in particular developing countries, must have a free and indiscriminate access to all benefits of nuclear energy.

From this perspective, Iran stresses the high importance of the full realization of the inalienable right of any State to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

This includes the inherent right of each State to develop a full national nuclear fuel cycle for peaceful purposes.

Likewise, they have a right to participate in the fullest possible exchange of equipment, materials and scientific and technological information for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

These inherent rights have also been reaffirmed in the NPT. Accordingly, developed States parties are obliged to cooperate in the further development of the applications of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, especially in the developing countries.

In this context, the IAEA, in Article II of its Statute is mandated to “seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world.”

For this reason, Iran emphasizes the importance of statutory functions and primary responsibility of the Agency to assist Member States in research on, and practical application of, nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Appreciating the related activities of the Agency, Iran stresses the need for further enhancement of such activities, particularly to meet the expectations of developing countries. It should be ensured that the Technical Cooperation Program of the Agency remains firm and sustainable through sufficient, assured and predictable financial and human resources.

Iran underlines that the IAEA is the sole competent authority responsible for the verification of the fulfillment of safeguards obligations.

Related functions of the Agency should be carried out in full conformity with the relevant legally-binding instruments, and take into account the concerns and interests of Member States, in particular, by strict observance of the principle of confidentiality.

Mr. President,

Iran is determined to vigorously continue to exercise its inalienable rights to nuclear energy, including development of a full national nuclear fuel cycle, for peaceful purposes. It is essential for its socio-economic development.

All accusations against Iran’s nuclear program was baseless from the beginning. It was a manufactured crisis to sustain pressure on Iran.

However, it came to an end with the conclusion of the JCPOA, that was the outcome of a long and intensive multilateral diplomatic efforts to resolve such an artificial crisis and to build trust.

Now, according to the IAEA, Iran is subject to the most robust nuclear verification regime. Likewise, in its 12 consecutive reports, the IAEA has confirmed Iran’s full compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA.

However, the current U.S administration, in violation of its international commitments, withdrew from the JCPOA and re-imposed its illegal sanctions against Iran.

The U.S. continues to systematically violate its commitments under the JCPOA and resolution 2231. Now, it brazenly forces others either to violate that resolution or face punishment.

All such illegal measures of the U.S. were rejected by the international community, including by almost all of its friends and allies.

The U.S. policy towards the JCPOA and resolution 2231 clearly indicates that even in the past, they did not have any genuine concern about Iran’s nuclear program. They openly lied in expressing concern over this program only to continue their animosity against Iran.

In a statement on 2 November 2018, the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and Foreign and Finance Ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, called the JCPOA “a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture and of multilateral diplomacy” and “crucial for the security of Europe, the region, and the entire world.”

Therefore, to ensure the continuity of such an important document as the JCPOA, the international community must remain vigilant and should not allow to be deceived once again by the U.S. fabrications which is rooted only in its hostility towards Iran.

Iran has been and will remain fully committed to the JCPOA inasmuch as all other JCPOA participants also fully and timely fulfill all their related commitments.

The JCPOA acknowledges Iran’s discretionary right to “cease performing its commitments under the JCPOA in whole or in part”, if the lifted sanctions under the deal are re-introduced or re-imposed. Paragraphs 26 and 36 reflect the common understanding, at the time of the negotiations, that any re-imposition of sanctions gives Iran the right to respond by wholly or partially ceasing performing its reciprocal measures under the accord.

The Islamic Republic of Iran made it very clear on different occasions that the re-imposition of sanctions was a “grave material breach” of the JCPOA. Iran called upon the remaining participants of the JCPOA to hold the United States “accountable for the consequences of its reckless wrongful act” and stated that in order to continue the implementation of JCPOA in its totality, “the remaining JCPOA participants need to provide objective guarantees that Iran is compensated unconditionally through appropriate national, regional and global measures.”

The JCPOA participants are therefore urged to genuinely carry out all their commitments. This indeed is in the interest of the JCPOA participants and the international community of States as a whole. Therefore, current supports for the full implementation of the JCPOA by all its participants need to be continued.

Likewise, in line with the principles embodied in the UN Charter and in support of multilateralism, the international community have a responsibility to preserve the JCPOA through rejecting the illegal unilateral measures of the United States.

I thank you, Mr. President.

END