IPPNW urges JCPOA parties to adhere to Iran agreement despite US withdrawal

June 18, 2018

tags: International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, IPPNW, Iran, JCPOA, nuclear disarmament, nuclear weapons

by IPPNW

[The national affiliates of IPPNW in France, Germany, and the UK, and IPPNW’s international leadership, have appealed to officials in the three governments to stand by the agreement that they made with Iran on their nuclear program. In a letter to President Macron, Chancellor Merkel, and Prime Minister May, reprinted here, IPPNW has urged the leaders to continue working closely with Iran’s government to ensure the obligations of the agreement continue to be met by all remaining parties to it.]

14 June 2018

President Emmanuel Macron

Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel

Prime Minister Theresa May

Your excellencies:

We are writing today to thank you each individually and jointly for your decision to remain in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear agreement, now under siege due to the unilateral violation of this agreement by the United States. We applaud your decision and strongly encourage you to continue working closely with the government of Iran and other parties to adhere to their obligations, as has been certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

We share your concern that the economic ties with Iran that were encouraged by lifting sanctions under the JCPOA are now threatened by renewed sanctions by the United States, whose leaders indicate they will penalize companies that do business with Iran. We have a specific concern that the sale of medical supplies and devices, and medical aid, with the potential to save lives and improve health in Iran, may suffer penalties from US sanctions. We urge you to invoke the appropriate EU Council regulations to trigger legal remedies for companies and individuals that could be hurt by this unilateral action of a third country in violation of international agreements.

In addition, we urge each of you to exercise your respective individual national authority to affirm the rule of law and respond through appropriate peaceful diplomatic and political means to this breach of EU and international regulations by the United States.

The reckless decision by the US President to ignore key allies and the overwhelming evidence of effective implementation of the landmark agreement increases the chances of new and intensified conflict in the Middle East and, as we are now seeing, could cause Iran to resume activities that would make it more difficult to ensure that their nuclear program is not being used for military purposes.

We are proud to join you in working as effectively and creatively as possible to avoid these outcomes, to preserve the JCPOA, and to promote peace in the Middle East and the world.

Sincerely,

Prof. Abraham Behar, Président, l’AMFPGN

Dr. med. Alex Rosen, Chair, IPPNW Germany

Frank Boulton, MD, FRCPEd, Nuclear Working Group, IPPNW UK

Dr. med. Angelika Claußen, European IPPNW Vice President

Daniel Bassey, MD, IPPNW Co-President

Ira Helfand, MD, IPPNW Co-President

Arun Mitra, MS, IPPNW Co-President

Tilman Ruff, MB, BS, IPPNW Co-President