European states pushed Iran on Wednesday to stick with a 2015 deal with world powers that curbed Tehran's nuclear program, stressing during a United Nations Security Council meeting that there is "no credible, peaceful alternative." US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal last year, inflaming tensions between Tehran and Washington that culminated last week with Iran shooting down a US drone. Trump ordered retaliatory air strikes but called them off at the last minute. "The JCPOA is a nuclear agreement that has been working and delivering on its goals. There is also no credible, peaceful alternative," European Union UN Ambassador Joao Vale de Almeida told the 15-member UN Security Council, using the acronym for the deal's formal name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The nuclear deal is endorsed in a 2015 Security Council resolution. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reports every six months on implementation of that resolution, which also subjects Iran to an arms embargo and other restrictions. UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the council that US decisions not to fully renew waivers for non-proliferation projects or extend waivers to allow some countries to import Iranian oil "may impede" nuclear deal implementation. She also said Iran's announcement that it will take new steps to reduce its compliance with the nuclear deal "may not help preserve it." French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre warned that the end of the deal "would mean a dangerous step backward, bring with it uncertainty and potentially grave consequences for the region for the nonproliferation regime and for our collective security." "Tehran must refrain from any measure that would place Iran in breach of its commitments," he told the council. Under the nuclear deal most UN and Western sanctions on Iran were lifted, however the United States has imposed new sanctions on Iran that is says are designed to force Iran back to the negotiating table. Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow wanted Iran to remain committed to the nuclear deal, but also accused the United States of sending mixed signals. "We hear assertions that nobody is planning regime change in Iran and then at the same time we hear threats about obliteration and new sanctions are being introduced, there are calls for dialogue and then in parallel openly they declare the intention to increase military presence in the region," he said. "Such signals, which even an experienced cryptologist would struggle to decode, can only bring the situation to a point of no return," Nebenzia said. — Reuters
