Read on Twitter
Can’t wait to see the tortured memo out of State/L claiming that somehow the U.S. is still a participant in the JCPOA. The May 8, 2018 announcement is literally titled “Ceasing U.S. Participation in the JCPOA....” https://twitter.com/sangernyt/status/1254532939964088331
That announcement is here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/ceasing-u-s-participation-jcpoa-taking-additional-action-counter-irans-malign-influence-deny-iran-paths-nuclear-weapon/
Or all the times Brian Hook said the U.S. was no longer a JCPOA participant. For example, “On the one-year anniversary of exiting the Iran deal, it is important to recall why we ended our participation and reimposed this pressure in the first place.” https://www.csis.org/analysis/iran-one-year-later-trump-administrations-policy-looking-back-and-looking-forward
Or Secretary Pompeo himself, just two weeks after leaving the deal. “Two weeks ago, President Trump terminated the United States participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.” https://www.heritage.org/defense/event/after-the-deal-new-iran-strategy
There are lots of other examples that one can Google. I am sure the argument will go that UNSCR 2231 defines the JCPOA participants by name to include the US, and there will be some use of the term “original participant” that justifies the US pulling the snapback lever.
And there is no withdrawal mechanism in the JCPOA. But this is pretty thin ice. Not a lawyer, but I don’t see the Euros buying this, and certainly not Moscow or Beijing. Recipe for a major rift in the UN Security Council, just when we need more multilateral cooperation, not less.
Forcing this through the UNSC could doom any chance for incorporating a snapback clause into future UNSC resolutions. This innovative mechanism was a smart outcome of JCPOA negotiations and could work well for a North Korea nuke deal. Would be a waste of a good diplomatic tool.
