Thread by @QuentinLopinot

1/ France, Germany and the UK have just taken the major step of triggering the Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM) provided under para. 36 of the #JCPOA.

But what does that mean? A short [THREAD] 👇

(1/10)

gov.uk/government/new…

2/ Per para. 36, a complaining party believing that another one is not respecting its commitments can take the issue to the Joint Commission, MFAs, and Advisory Board to seek resolution - with specific timelines for each step, which can be extended indefinitely by consensus.

3/ Ultimately, per para. 37, the issue can be taken by the complaining party to the UN Security Council to vote on a resolution to continue the lifting of sanctions. But that’s a different ball game - and this is NOT what the E3 decision is about.

4/ Now, we are only dealing with the #DRM. It comes as a logical decision by the #E3 after they established Sunday that Iran’s five successive decisions to renege on its commitments under the #JCPOA constituted violations of the nuclear deal, and a major proliferation concern.

https://twitter.com/quentinlopinot/status/1216773671244783616

5/ This decision shows that the #E3 remain committed to the preservation of the #JCPOA, and to ensuring that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon.

This may sound counterintuitive, but in reality it is not.

6/ On the one side, not invoking the #DRM after Iran’s actions would only undermine the credibility of the #JCPOA and of the European commitment to non-proliferation. The #JCPOA may be on life support, but it is still alive - and thus it must be enforced.

7/ On the other side, it signals that the #E3 are not renouncing the deal nor aligning with Washington. After the US called upon them to “break away” from the #JCPOA, their response is clear: no. The E3 made an independent determination of their interests and responsibilities.

8/ The E3 decision to trigger the #DRM is therefore intended to provide a new opportunity for diplomacy and take all remaining parties to the #JCPOA back to a negotiating table within the Joint Commission.

9/ We will probably see a lot of posturing in the next days - including the baseless claims that Iran had invoked para. 36.

But the key question is whether all parties are willing to move beyond a toxic blame game that only undermines the #JCPOA and engage constructively.

10/ The recent outburst of violence following the killing of Soleimani and the downing of #PS752 were a tragic overview of the risks associated with the current situation - and the risks of adding a new nuclear proliferation crisis to this mix would be dramatic (10/10).