Security Council Briefing on Resolution 1737

U.S. Mission to the United Nations: Remarks at a Security Council Briefing on Resolution 1737

07/15/2013 07:01 PM EDT

AS DELIVERED

I would like to join others in thanking Ambassador Quinlan for his briefing as chair of Iran Sanctions Committee and for his leadership of this Committee. Iran's longstanding violations of its obligations with regard to the nuclear program are irrefutable. As we heard last month from IAEA Director General Amano, Iran has not shown a serious willingness to address the agency's and this Council's demands on the nuclear front.

The Director General's latest report again shows Iran moving full speed ahead with its prohibited activities. Iran has now accumulated a stockpile of over 6,300 kilograms of uranium hexafluoride enriched to 3.5% and 182 kilograms enriched to 20%, and hundreds of advanced centrifuges have been installed at its facilities.

Instead of finding ways to lower tensions and build confidence Iran announced plans to build additional nuclear plants and enrichment facilities. The Director General now tells us that it is essential and urgent that Iran engage substantively with the agency regarding a possible military dimension to its nuclear program. Yet, Iran refuses to respond to the IAEA's valid requests for further information. In light of these developments, the Iran Sanctions Committee must carry out its efforts with increased vigor. The committee should accelerate implementation of recommendations made by the panel of experts in its final report. The committee should also address the steady flow of Iranian arms, military support, advisors, and training to groups in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, Iraq, and beyond. Just last January, Iran was caught sending shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, high-grade explosives, and other arms to Yemen. This was more than just a sanctions violation. It was an aggressive act to undermine Yemen's transition.

The Committee and the Security Council must take action in response. Tehran has long supplied weapons to the Assad government knowing they would be used to massacre the Syrian people. Iran is also sending increasingly sophisticated arms and other material to Hezbollah, its long standing partner in terrorism who has publicly intervened in Syria's internal conflict, and to other deadly groups like the Jaish al-Sha'bi.

This Council must tackle with renewed urgency Iranian military assistance to Hezbollah and other armed terrorist groups and should also consider the impact of Iran's actions on the sovereign rights of other countries, especially Lebanon. Iran has also launched ballistic missiles in clear violation of Resolution 1929. So long as doubts remain about Iran's nuclear intentions, Iran must comply with all of its obligations under this Council's resolutions, including Resolution 1929's unambiguous ban on such missile launches. In short, the Committee cannot afford business as usual. Iran's violations must be treated with the gravest concern if we hope to find durable solutions to conflicts affecting the Middle East.

As this Council seeks to address Iran's many violations, the United States remains convinced that principled diplomacy is the best tool to achieve a comprehensive and peaceful solution to the challenges Iran poses to international peace and security.

The onus is on Iran to demonstrate its good faith. After months of delays, we call on Iran to take serious, credible steps to engage constructively. Until Iran is prepared to address substantively all aspects of the P5 +1's proposals, we remain committed to steadily increasing isolation and pressure. Fully implementing these sanctions can show Iran the cost of refusing to uphold its international obligations and illustrate that another more constructive path is clearly available to its leaders.

ENDS

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