The struggle between the U. S. and nations still party to the Iran nuclear agreement may force Washington to begrudgingly recognise the reality of a multipolar world order, former UN human rights adviser James Paul has said.
Russia, China, Germany, France and the UK all confirmed at a meeting in Vienna on Friday that they remain determined to implement the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) governing Iran’s nuclear programme in spite of threats of U.S. sanctions.
“If the five powers, and many other countries that support them, can succeed, this might be a historic
moment,” Paul told Sputnik.
“The U.S. could be forced to concede a more multipolar world order.”
International relations, he added, took an important turn when these five world powers agreed in Vienna to
stand up to the United States.
Paul, however, cautioned that it still remained to be seen whether China, Russia, the UK, France and Germany
would follow up their declaration with effective actions.
“This will not be easy. Washington is determined to shut down Iran’s oil sales and to act against foreign
and U.S. firms that do any business with the Iranians,” he said.
Paul added, however, that the meeting marked “an important step in the right direction,” and warned that the
stakes remain high.
“Everyone understands that a US war with Iran might be in the offing and that an open trade system may also
hang in the balance,” Paul said.
When the Trump administration decided to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement they immediately reimposed
sanctions and warned that Tehran’s trading partners would get hit with secondary sanctions.
The statement of the parties to the JCPOA at Vienna echoed earlier statements by China, India, and other
non-European great powers that they had no obligation to respect unilateral US sanctions against Iran
and would resist them. (Sputnik/NAN)