"The United Kingdom remains committed to finding a peaceful and lasting negotiated solution to the Iran nuclear issue."
Statement by Ambassador Peter Wilson of the UK Mission to the UN at the Security Council Meeting on Non-Proliferation
Mr President,
I thank the 1737 Committee and the Panel of Experts for their continued work in supporting the implementation of the Security Council’s Resolutions on Iran. And I particularly welcome Spanish leadership on this sensitive issue. We have made progress in recent weeks in negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme, but a lot of complex issues remain to be resolved. We remain committed to finding a comprehensive agreement and still believe that is possible, but we will not agree to a bad deal. Iran will need to show greater flexibility and take some tough decisions in the coming days if we are to achieve a deal when talks resume in Switzerland later this week.
We are at an important moment in the negotiations. If we are able to resolve the main issues, technical work will follow to convert a political framework into a detailed text. We will continue to work together with our E3+3 partners to secure a successful outcome. We welcome the unity of purpose shown by our fellow Council members involved in the negotiations and recognise the important role played by the EU High Representative in these talks.
While negotiations continue the bulk of sanctions – including all UN sanctions and the obligations on UN member states arising from Security Council resolutions – remain in place and fully in force.
We therefore welcome the notifications from member states regarding designated entities, and delivery of equipment intended for use in a light water reactor at the Bushehr nuclear power plant. This report reminds us that we must continue to report any violations in accordance with the requirements set out in the Resolutions.
Mr President,
Turning to the work of the Committee, we must continue implementation work to enforce the relevant Security Council sanctions measures on Iran. We welcome the Committee’s continued guidance and assistance to member states and international organisations. We remain concerned by Iran’s continued failure to respond to previous requests for information on various incidents, including the interdiction of a vessel carrying a cargo of conventional arms in the Red Sea. Once again we urge Iran to engage with the Committee on such incidents. On the work of the Panel of Experts, we welcome the range of activities carried out in 2014, particularly the recommendations contained in their 2014 final report regarding designated individuals such as bio-identifiers, and the updated Sanctions List.
Mr President,
The United Kingdom remains committed to finding a peaceful, and lasting negotiated solution to the Iran nuclear issue. The UK will continue to work closely with our E3+3 partners to achieve this goal.
Thank you.