Seeking to avoid complying with the consequences of previously-signed treaties, the US announced that they are outright withdrawing from multiple agreements today. This included the 1955 Treaty of Amity with Iran, and the 1961 Optional Protocol to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes.
The 1955 Treaty of Amity was a little known treaty signed by the US and Iran after the 1953 CIA coup. The treaty was cited in an Iranian lawsuit aiming to prevent parts of US sanctions being enforced, and Iran won that lawsuit on Wednesday.
It is unclear if the 1955 treaty was really that big of a part of the court ruling, which merely said the US has to exempt humanitarian goods from the sanctions. The US decision to withdraw from the treaty will, however, likely be used to claim the ruling doesn’t apply anymore.
The Vienna Convention, by contrast, is a far-reaching diplomatic agreement, which the US was an early signatory of. The protocol the US withdrew from on Tuesday was one in which disputes between nations are to be resolved peacefully on the international stage.
US officials aren’t keen on that, because it might require them to settle disputes instead of just endlessly escalating them with new sanctions and other measures. The Palestinians are seeking redress of disputes with the US centering on the relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem.
Though the US was an early signatory to this provision, according to John Bolton their real objection is that the Palestinians were allowed to sign at all. The State of Palestine signed the protocol earlier this year, but the US doesn’t recognize them as a state, and considers them to have no rights to resolve such disputes in international courts.
Bolton argued further that Iran is politicizing the International Court of Justice, and that the US views the court as ineffective and is moving away from complying with ICJ rulings in general.
All the signs point to the (impending) fourth turning
https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Turning-American-Prophecy-Rendezvous/dp/0767900464/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1538653625&sr=1-1&keywords=the+fourth+turning
Here is more detailed information on the Treaty of Amity with Iran and why the International Court of Justice found the United States guilty of violations:
https://viableopposition.blogspot.com/2018/10/iran-united-states-and-international.html
If there is one thing that we can be certain of, its that Washington cannot be counted on when it comes to the signing of treaties.
The word pariah appears in my mind.
What’s next? – Disowning the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal, in which US Supreme Court Chief Justice Jackson was the lead prosecutor?
Those were the days! However, the “winners” of WW2 did not really intend to follow their stated rules.
So much for the rules-based international order.
. . .from a recent speech by a US ambassador:
It can probably be perfectly effective or perfectly ineffective, depending on what you think the goals are.
We must remember George W Bush withdrawing the USA from the ABM Treaty and several others. Vladimir Putin reminded Dubya in 2004 and has been trying to restart talks ever since. All the US presidents have the hubris of the very powerful, and Trump in some speeches gave the impression he wanted to be different, but his actions, or those allowed under his name show that the same trend continues, perhaps a little worse.
Here is a textbook example how history proceeds by completely unintended and often negative consequences. Recently Mr. Netanyahu has accused Iran of hiding nuclear material in a “warehouse” in Tehran of which he showed a photograph. Every member of the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action can ask the IAEA to inspect that site. If certain conditions are fulfilled the IAEA can go to that site.
Israel cannot ask the IAEA to inspect that “warehouse” because it has not signed the JCPOA. President Trump cannot ask the IAEA to inspect that “warehouse” because he has pulled the US out of the JCPOA! It is unlikely that Great Britain, France, Germany. the Russian Federation, or China will do that for Netanyahu. The “warehouse” will not be inspected. Unless Iran asks the IAEA to inspect.
P.S. Well, President Trump can always demand that the IAEA must inspect that warehouse without returning to the JCPOA. The IAEA might politely invite him to come back into the JCPOA and drop all punitive US measures against Iran. Even then our President may not have sufficient evidence for the IAEA to go into the “warehouse”. One thing is certain. He will not demand that Scott Ritter must be allowed to inspect that “warehouse”.