Legal Analysis of Security Council Resolution 2231 and Its Relationship with the JCPOA

Considering the JCPOA as a gentlemen agreement, this article aims to analyze United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), endorsing the comprehensive solution to the Iranian nuclear issue reached in Vienna on 14 July 2015. Therefore, the non-binding nature of the JCPOA demands an analysis of the relationship between this document and the Resolution. Unlike Chapter VII resolutions of the SC, the language of the 2231 Resolution is soft and there is no mentioning of Chapter VII therein. The practice of the Council demonstrates that when it issues a chapter VII resolution, the Council expressly would state that its resolution is in accordance with Chapter VII. Iran has recently conducted some missile testes raising different views as to annex two to the Resolution, i.e., it has highlighted the connection between the Resolution and the JCPOA. Despite the fact that the JCPOA is annexed to the Resolution, they constitute two different instruments. While the approval of the Resolution means approval of the JCPOA, the reverse is not true. Finally, under Article 103 of the UN Charter, in case of conflict between obligations of States under the Charter with those of other international agreements, the former shall prevail.