Iran missile program not in violation of JCPOA: prof. Entessar

Nader Entessar, Professor Emeritus of Political Science from the University of South Alabama, highlights that Iran’s missile program doesn’t violate the terms of JCPOA and that European countries seek other aims by their letters and threats.

“The letter of the E3 to the UN Secretary-General was not only provocative but also full of lies; Iran’s missile program does not violate UNSC Resolution 2231,” Entessar told Mehr News Agency on Friday.

“The three European countries aim to undermine Iran’s deterrence and defense power and since they were not successful in forcing Iran into destroying its missile and defense program, they want to fulfill this aim via the United Nations,” he said.

“If the issue is referred to the UN Security Council, three permanent members of the council will vote against Iran, so Russian and China will have an important role in approval or rejection of an anti-Iranian resolution.”

The remarks came as France, Germany and the United Kingdom penned a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, making allegations that Iran’s ballistic missile activity is “inconsistent” with the call in a council resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. "Latest E3 letter to UNSG on missiles is a desperate falsehood to cover up their miserable incompetence in fulfilling bare minimum of their own JCPOA obligations," FM Zarif wrote in a tweet on Thursday in reaction to E3’s letter.

European signatories of the deal have so far failed to fulfill their obligations under the nuclear deal and safeguard Iran’s economy from damages of US unilateral sanctions after Washington withdrew from the deal in 2018. Meanwhile, Iran has announced that it is reducing commitments to the deal in a transparent and reversible manner to create a balance. Tehran says it has the right to do so according to Paragraphs 26 and 36 of the deal. E3 has called on Iran to return to full implementation of the deal and even threatened Tehran to use a mechanism in the deal which can return the UN sanctions against Iran.

European countries consider the trigger mechanism as their winning card against Iran, Entessar said, adding, “If Iran officially withdraws from the JCPOA like what US did, Europe will lose the tool of ‘trigger mechanism’ … of course, Westerners will try to adopt anti-Iranian resolution in the UNSC but this will become harder without this mechanism.”

“I believe the four steps that Iran has taken to reduce commitments to the JCPOA not has failed to influence the behavior of the E3, but also has turned them into claimants with aggressive behavior.”

He went on to say that “Bringing up the missile program and in particular, following the case in the UN Security Council would be the last blow to the body of the JCPOA that is now in a coma.”

“One of Iran’s biggest mistakes after US withdrawal [from the JCPOA] was pinning hope on the Europe,” said the professor, adding that European countries can never distance themselves from the United States and play an independent role.

He confirmed that there are no legally-binding term in the JCPOA to limit Iran’s missile program and on the other hand there is no legal framework in the international community to define or restrict missile programs of other countries, adding that Western countries “have stripped Iran missile program of any legal perspective, turning it into a totally political issue so as to achieve their aim.”

“Enemies of Iran seek to turn the country into a defenseless body that has no important role in the region,” he said, noting, “they consider Iran’s missile program as the biggest obstacle in achieving their aim.”