Thank you, Mr President, for convening the meeting on UN Security Council Resolution 2231. Like other delegations, I would like to thank Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo for the SG report and for her valuable briefing today.

In September this year, this Council sent an important signal: a signal, that Iran is held accountable for its continued severe non-compliance with the JCPoA. This underscored the unwavering resolve of the international community to uphold the integrity of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture and to enforce the nuclear safeguards of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Mr President,
Germany and the E3 remain committed to pursuing a diplomatic solution in order to resolve the strong concerns about Iran’s nuclear activities. Here I want to echo what my colleagues from France and the United Kingdom have said today in this meeting, and what my delegation has consistently said in many past meetings of the Council on this matter. Our door remains open for dialogue.

In the meantime, we must focus on three points:

First, the Security Council has to agree on a Chair of the 1737 Sanctions Committee. The Panel of Experts must start working as soon as possible. Their independent assessments are vital for transparency and effective monitoring of the reinstated restrictive measures, which the Security Council has agreed upon.
It is our conviction that the reinstated UN Security Council Resolutions are not an end in themselves, they are a tool to encourage constructive engagement and to create conditions for meaningful progress. For that they need to be implemented comprehensively.

Second, since the Council remains seized of the matter under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, we need to ensure that this threat to peace and security receives the necessary collective attention. The Council should therefore retain its established practice of semi-annual meetings.

Third, we call on Iran to urgently resume full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. This is a legal requirement under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Iran’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. We further call on Iran to reengage in diplomacy to address the international community’s concerns over its nuclear program. Because ultimately - here I reiterate what I said before -, a comprehensive solution can only be established through dialogue.

Mr President,
Germany, with its E3 partners France and the United Kingdom, has been engaged in diplomacy with Iran over its nuclear program for more than twenty years. We will continue our diplomatic efforts to address all concerns associated with Iran’s nuclear program. Because it is and remains in all of our interest that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.

I thank you.