Statement by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador João Genésio de Almeida Filho, on Resolution 2231 and the JCPOA - July 6th, 2023

Thank you, Madam President,

I thank Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo for her briefing.

Brazil has been actively seeking constructive diplomatic solutions to this file for over a decade now. We have been willing to work on creative solutions with a range of partners in order to dial down tensions, preserve the nuclear nonproliferation regime and ensure that all parties see any agreement as legitimate and durable.

It was in this spirit that we supported and continue to support the agreement that eventually emerged in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The JCPOA was imperfect, as many agreements are, especially in the field of disarmament, yet it represented a major breakthrough for diplomacy, laying out a path towards a comprehensive and definitive solution to theso-called Iranian nuclear dossier.

Like many of the arms control agreements of the Cold War, however, the JCPOA has been increasingly undermined, as part of a worrying trend in arms control where the perfect has been allowed to become the enemy of the good.

We regretted the US decision to leave the agreement in 2018, just as we regretted recent Iranian actions inresponse to that decision that have progressively undermined the letter and the spirit of the Plan of Action. Most of all, we regret the loss of confidence on both sides, which has made it harder to organize a return to the Agreement's provisions by all parties. It is now incumbent on all stakeholders to shore up that confidence.

Madam President,

Three things are necessary to rebuild trust and open a window of opportunity for restoring the JCPOA.

The first step in creating a pathway back to compliance with the JCPOA is not to take any actions that might aggravate the trust deficit or make a return to the agreement even harder. All parties should abstain from escalatory rhetoric and from taking actions that might further degrade trust in the negotiating process. This includes being extremely cautious before triggering the "snapback" provisions of resolution 2231, which would represent a point of no-return and lead to a very perilous path.

Second, we must focus on what is achievable. The JCPOA had a very specific and well-defined mandate which was assuring that Iran's nuclear program remained exclusively peaceful. While geopolitical and military concerns abounded in 2015, the JCPOA was able to focus its attention on the nuclear issue and find common ground around a limited, but crucial, topic.

We must be able to focus our attention on that limited, but crucial, issue of ensuring sustained confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program if we are to have any hope of restoring the most significant nonproliferation agreement of our time. Arms transfers, the use of conventional weapons and even evolution of missile technology are serious issues that should be discussed, but they should not hamper the full implementation of the JCPOA as originally intended.

Finally, we must redouble our support to the IAEA's efforts towards the implementation of resolution 2231.The IAEA has continued to play a vital role in interfacing with Iran, defusing tensions and finding ways to preserve dialogue and continue verification of Iran's nuclear program.

Director-General Grossi's Statements to the IAEA Board of Governors on May 31st indicate progress in the relationship with Iran. While gaps remain, this cooperation between Iran and the IAEA remains the best pathway to ensuring transparency around Iran's nuclear program and is essential for rebuilding trust towards any revived agreement. We must vocally support these efforts.

Madam President,

While we understand the concerns of many around this room, we are also alarmed at the prospect of a complete breakdown of the JCPOA, with no appropriate and effective alternatives to replace it. Isolating Iran and cutting off avenues to dialogue can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading to exactly the outcomes that all of us here are seeking to avoid.

We do not tire of repeating in this Council: engagement is not a reward and diplomacy, not isolation, is the only way to bring these files to apositive conclusion. Resolution 2231 acknowledges this when it emphasizes "the importance of political and diplomatic efforts to finding a negotiated solution guaranteeing that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes".

Further, the recent agreement signed in May between Saudi Arabia and Iran signals the will to reach a peaceful solution to regional challenges and to resort to dialogue as a means to promoting stability in the Middle East. Let us seize that momentum and find the political will to do more through diplomacy, while there is still time.

And I thank you.