TEHRAN - Richard D. Anderson, a professor at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), has said that a resolution issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors shows efforts to discredit the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA.

In an interview with ILNA published on Monday, Anderson said that opponents of the JCPOA seek to undermine the multilateral agreement.

He added that the Europeans are not capable of standing against the United States.

The professor also said that U.S. President Donald Trump seeks collapse of the JCPOA before the November presidential elections.

The 35-member IAEA board of governors passed a resolution on June 19 demanding access to two old places under the allegation that nuclear work may have been done there.

France, Britain, and Germany, the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, submitted the draft resolution to the IAEA board for approval. 

Nine countries out 35 members to the IAEA board did not vote for the resolution. China and Russia voted against the resolution and Thailand, Mongolia, Niger, South Africa, India, Pakistan and the Republic of Azerbaijani abstained to vote.  

‘Russia, China to prevent extension of arms embargo’

Anderson predicts that Russia and China will prevent extension of an arms embargo on Iran.

He said that Russia and China will use their right to veto in the UN Security Council to kill the U.S.-proposed resolution to extend arms embargo.

The United States has stepped up calls for the extension of UN arms embargo on Iran since April.

Under the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal, the arms embargo on Iran expires in October.

Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, has reiterated Washington’s call for extending an expiring United Nations arms embargo on the Islamic Republic, saying the world should ignore Iran’s threats to retaliate if the embargo is extended.

Hook told The Associated Press on Sunday that the UN arms embargo, set to expire in October, has stopped Iran from purchasing fighter jets, tanks, warships and other weaponry.

“If we let it expire, you can be certain that what Iran has been doing in the dark, it will do in broad daylight and then some,” he said.

Hook made the comments while on a visit to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the U.S.-allied United Arab Emirates, as part of a Mideast tour.

The Trump administration has threatened that it may seek to trigger a snapback of all sanctions on Iran if its attempts to extend the arms embargo fail.

According to Reuters, Russia and China have started making the case at the United Nations against Washington’s claim that it can trigger a return of all sanctions on Iran at the Security Council, with Moscow invoking a 50-year-old international legal opinion to argue against the move.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has slammed the U.S. threats to reimpose arms embargo on Iran, saying it violates Resolution 2231.

Wang urged the U.S. to stop its unilateral sanctions, return to the correct track of observing the Iran nuclear deal and UNSC resolutions, work with all parties to maintain the international nuclear non-proliferation system, and maintain peace and stability in the Middle East, CGTN reported on June 11.

In a letter to Guterres and the Security Council circulated on June 8, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the Trump administration of unleashing a politically motivated campaign against Iran and called for “universal condemnation” of the U.S. attempts, AP reported.

Lavrov called the United States’ attempts to impose a permanent arms embargo against Iran “ridiculous” and “irresponsible”.

The Russian foreign minister said the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers and now has no legal right to try to use the UN resolution endorsing the deal to indefinitely continue the arms embargo.

NA/PA