Pakistan informed the UN Security Council that it opposes any rushed attempt to re-impose sanctions on Iran under the JCPOA snapback mechanism, urging members to revive the nuclear deal through diplomacy and dialogue, while cautioning that coercive measures erode trust and disproportionately impact ordinary citizens.
In a statement at the Council briefing on Iran’s nuclear issue on Tuesday, Pakistan’s Acting Permanent Representative Ambassador Usman Jadoon thanked UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo for the briefing.
He said Pakistan’s position is grounded in the belief that all issues concerning Iran’s nuclear programme must be resolved through dialogue, with more time provided for diplomacy to succeed, while avoiding confrontation and preserving the JCPOA framework until a successor arrangement is reached.
Ambassador Jadoon recalled that the Security Council last met on the issue in September in the wake of developments concerning the JCPOA snapback mechanism.
He said it was “deeply regrettable” that divisions in the Council and beyond had widened in recent months, taking the international community further away from resolving the issue, which he said had also been complicated by unilateral actions involving the use of force, violations of the UN Charter, and differing interpretations on invocation of the snapback mechanism.
He said Pakistan’s position remains unchanged and that diplomacy and dialogue should be the guiding principles for resolving all outstanding issues concerning Iran’s nuclear programme in accordance with the rights, obligations and responsibilities of the parties concerned.
The ambassador said Pakistan believes coercive measures would not help bring parties closer and would instead exacerbate the trust deficit, adding that sanctions directly hurt ordinary people the most, impact trade, affect economic development, and diminish prospects of regional connectivity.
Pakistan, he said, has consistently advocated the primacy of diplomatic engagement and the imperative of avoiding confrontation and conflict.
While noting that the JCPOA was not implemented as intended, the representative said it provided an essential framework for resolving the issue based on international law and mutual respect and acceptance, and that its essence and basic framework could still prove useful if there is mutual desire to move forward in a spirit of compromise and accommodation.
He said there is a need to revive the spirit of the JCPOA once more, arguing that divisions could be overcome by bringing all parties together in a spirit of conciliation towards a solution-oriented approach.
He also stressed that trust and confidence in diplomatic engagement damaged in recent months must be meticulously restored.
Envoy Jadoon underscored the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) role in verifying compliance with nuclear safeguards obligations of member states, urging the agency to fulfil its mandate in an objective, credible and impartial manner consistent with its technical nature, without any other considerations.
He said constructive efforts, including through the Security Council, should be undertaken to bring the parties together for a compromise acceptable to all, adding that there is no alternative to continued diplomacy and dialogue for the peaceful resolution of disputes.