Statement by Representative of Slovenia to the UN Security Council Ambassador Samuel Žbogar at the briefing on non-proliferation, Iran

Thank you very much Mr. President,

I wish to thank Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo, I want to thank the Head of the EU delegation Ambassador Lambrinidis and I want to thank our Maltese colleague Ambassador Frazier as the first Facilitator for their valuable insights. I also want to welcome Representatives of Iran and Germany in the Council.

Mr. President,

It remains a great concern for my country that Iran decided to stop the implementation of transparency measures envisaged by the JCPoA. When in addition to this a decision was made to remove all IAEA’s JCPOA-related surveillance and monitoring equipment, a full overview over Iran’s nuclear programme was rendered impossible.

Without an Additional Protocol and with the JCPoA not being fully implemented, the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme is becoming increasingly challenging to confirm. For us, this is very concerning.

These concerns are exacerbated by the latest developments. According to the last report by the IAEA, Iran is in midst of significantly expanding its enrichment capacities. In addition to this, its stockpiles of enriched uranium drastically exceed JCPoA limitations. The increase of highly enriched uranium is also substantial, which is especially troubling. At the same time, we lack an explanation on how this highly enriched uranium can be used for civilian purposes.

With these concerns in mind, Slovenia calls on Iran to reverse these actions and refrain from any further escalatory steps.

Until a solution for the JCPoA is identified, Iran’s full cooperation with the IAEA remains crucial. I would like to use this opportunity to appreciate the IAEA’s objective and relentless work on the issue. Slovenia fully supports the work of the Agency and commends its professionalism in this regard.

Mr. President,

Slovenia still views the JCPoA as perhaps the most substantial achievement of multilateralism of the past decade. It proved that multilateral diplomacy can work and provide solutions to major international security challenges. It is a robust non-proliferation deal and an important element of the stability in the region.

However since the US withdrawal and since Iran began to implement the so-called “remedial measures”, the JCPoA regime has taken some hard hits.

As the JCPoA “Termination day” is less than a year and a half away, it is time to start thinking of the day after. We were always well aware that the size and unclear nature of Iran’s nuclear programme presented challenges, which the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) simply could not fully address. Today this is even more true than in the years leading up to the adoption of the JCPoA.

What shape a new solution to the Iranian nuclear issue will take is impossible to say – what we do know is that we will need it very soon.

Thank you.

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