The Perspective of International Law on the Withdrawal of United States from Joint

Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

ABSTRACT
The actions of the United States that came out unilaterally have violated several international
laws, this is because most of the P5 + 1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations
Security Council—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany)
countries expressed disappointment with the decision of the President of the United States,
Donald Trump. Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which also known as the Iran
nuclear agreement, was agreed in Vienna on July 15, 2015 and became the basis for preventing a
nuclear war in the future. The conflict between the United States and Iran became very tense
after the United States left the Agreement.The United States considered the Agreement is a
wrong decision by its predecessors because the Agreement only benefits Iran with the release of
international sanctions on Iranian crude oil production and the United States sees Iran's cheating
on the Agreement. The research discusses how is the international law perspective on the United
State withdrawal from JCPOA. The research is a normative legal research by using statue
approach in conducting this research. Method used in the research is using library research by
accessing some datas and informations through journals, books, and internet. The aim of the
research is to understand the international law perspective on the issue of withdrawal of United
State from Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Key words: Law of Treaties, United State, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action JCPOA,
Nuklir Iran.

I. INTRODUCTION
The United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA) became dispute between Iran and the United States because the withdrawal
conducted unilaterally on May 8, 2018. The Joint Comprehensive Plan if Action
(JCPOA) is an agreement on Iran's nuclear program which was agreed in Vienna on
14 July 2015 by Iran and the other states, P5 + 1 (the five permanent members of the
United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United
States—plus Germany) together with the European Union which was signed on 18
 October 2015, entered into force on January 16, 2016 this agreement does not need
ratification. The Agreement disscuses the removal of economic sanctions that exclude
Iran from world oil banking and trade, but the Agreement does not limit missile tests.
Also, the Agreement allowed Iran only have 300 kilograms of uranium compared to
previous regulation, 100.000 kilograms. if the restrictions on uranium owner are
removed, it will enrich the uranium. The Agreement was debated because after 15
years Iran could have more sophisticated decomposition facilities which means the
Agreement give more benefits to Iran, so it became a reason for the United States to
withdraw from the Agreement even though Iran had stated that with or without the
Agreement, Iran would not develop a nuclear weapons program.
The United States’ action are debated among the scholars by saying that the
United States violated the Vienna Convention on The Law of The Treaties 1969
which stipulates that such cancellation or resignation, even though it is not written in
the agreement, can be made if the cancellation or resignation has been agreed upon by
the participants or is considered included in the attitude agreement itself, and the
United States came out unilaterally.
However, after the President of the United States, Trump made the decision to
leave the JCPOA by means of an individual decision maker because they did not want
Iran to be free from United Nations sanctions and the United States thought that the
agreement was very beneficial for Iran, so Iran also threatened to continue its uranium
enrichment program if a new agreement was made the parties that are still involved in
the JCPOA, namely the five members of the United Nations Security Council plus
Germany and the European Union, were not immediately carried out. The JCPOA has
been threatened with failure due to the United States' unilateral resignation in 2018
which was followed by political pressure and the superpower's economic sanctions on
Iran. So, in this paper we seek to find out how the perspective of International Law on
the problem of withdrawing the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA).

II. RESEARCH QUESTION

 How does the International Law perspective on the issue of withdrawal of United
State from Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

III. RESEARCH METHODS

A. The Type of Research
This research is a normative legal research by using international law perspective
in relation with the case of the withdrawal of United State from JCPOA. There are
several approaches in writing a legal research in order to get information from
various aspects of the issue being tried to find the answer. In this research, the
authors use statutory approach especially in dealing with the case of the
withdrawal of United State from JCPOA.

B. Technique of Collecting Data

Method of data collection in this research will be done through library research by
literature learning. The data will be collected from reading, analyzing, and try to
make summary from related documents such as convention, laws books, legal
journals, and others which related to the main issue of this research.

C. Data Analysis
The data will be analyzed by using international law perspectives, as the legal
basis of this research, especially the case of withdrawal of United State from
JCPOA. Furthermore, the data will also be connected with the principle of law,
some conventions, and others related rules, or it is called as juridical thinking.

IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

A. INTRODUCTION of J CPOA

On 14 July 2015, Iran, the so-called P5 + 1 (the five permanent members of the
United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States
—plus Germany), and the European Union signed a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA) agreement. This Agreement has the aim of limiting Iran's nuclear activities so
 as to reduce regional and international tension, and on the other hand, free Iran from
economic and political sanctions, both from the US, European Union and the United
Nations.
Iran has two nuclear facilities at Natanz and Fordo. In both sites, uranium
hexafluoride gas is introduced into a centrifuge to separate out the most fissile isotope, U-
235. Low enriched uranium, which has a U-235 concentration of 3% - 4%, can be used to
produce fuel for nuclear power plants. Meanwhile, Uranium to become a nuclear weapon
must be enriched by 90%.Iran's uranium stockpiles are reduced by 98% to 300kg, a
figure that must not be exceeded until 2031 and must keep the U-235 concentration at
3.67%.1

By January 2016, Iran had drastically reduced the number of centrifuges installed
at Natanz and Fordo, and delivered remaining low levels of enriched uranium to
Russia.In addition, research and development can only be carried out at Natanz and is
limited to 2024. Enrichment will not be allowed at Fordo until 2031, and underground
facilities will be converted into a nuclear, physics and technology center. The 1,044
centrifuges at the site will produce radioisotopes for use in medicine, agriculture, industry
and science.

The US president at the time, Barack Obama, believed that the JCPOA would
prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons in secret. This is due to routine
inspections from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of all nuclear facilities
in Iran. Prior to the signing of the JCPOA, Iran suffered heavy losses as a result of
sanctions imposed by the United Nations, US and European Union aimed at forcing Iran
to stop its uranium enrichment activities. Between 2012 and 2016, Iran suffered a loss of
US $ 160 billion from the petroleum sector alone.
After the JCPOA was signed, Iran regained access to its foreign assets worth more
than 100 billion US dollars which were previously frozen. It can also continue selling
petroleum to international markets and use the global financial system to transact.
1
PUTRA, “Sekilas Tentang Perjanjian Nuklir Iran yang Berada di Ujung Tanduk”,
https://www.kompasiana.com/noviandi0396/5d22acc10d82302e1a605957/sekilas-tentang-perjanjian-nuklir-iran-
yang-berada-di-ujung-tanduk?page=all#sectionall, Accessed on 26th of November 2020 at 9.56 p.m
 Consensus is that this question is important for research For most countries in the region,
this is the best way to develop gradually Eliminate Iran's aggressive role in the Middle
East. Iran is country that Has influence in the Middle East and the United States.

A country with great power in international politics. Conflict The relationship

between relationships can lead to improvement Conflict in the Middle East. As a very
complex area In conflict, decision making will reduce many aspects.In the midst of all the
debates regarding the US decision to leave the agreement, this paper sees that the
perceived threat to Iran is one of the determinants of US exit from this nuclear deal.
International anarchy in the constructivist perspective of Hobbesian makes Iran perceived
as "the others" by the United States. This perception does not appear suddenly. If you
look at its history, the relationship between the US and Iran is very dynamic.

When the Shah's regime came to power, relations between the two countries were
good. So that in 1967, Iran's nuclear development research program was supported by the
US. However, after the Iranian revolution and regime change, the relationship between
the two was considered conflictual. Relations deteriorated, especially after President
Bush labeled Iran as the axis of evil.2It is this perception that President Trump is using
again. In his speech President Trump explained how this perception was shaped after the
regime's change in Iran in 1979 to an "extremist" regime. Since then, Iran's policies have
been seen as a threat. According to President Trump, the deals that have been made with
the relief of economic sanctions only benefit Iran.

Trump even accused Iran of violating the deal3Another important factor behind
Trump's decision is the US perception of Iran's regional activities. The Iranian regime has
supported conflicts in the Middle East such as Syria and Yemen by sponsoring terror,
supporting the Syrian dictator who uses missiles and weapons to attack civilians. Closing
his speech, Trump also explained that the policy to exit the agreement must be done for
the sake of US security.4
2
Arms Control, 2002
3
PBS. How Iran Entered The Exist, viewed April 4, 2019,
4
Arms Control Association 2002. Bush Labels North Korea, Iran, Iraq an “Axis of Evil”. BBC 2017. Iran nuclear
deal: Trump's speech in full, viewed April 05, 2020
 Iran's nuclear problem is no stranger to Indonesia. During the reign of President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia Participated in the formulation of UN Security
Council Resolution 1747 Heavy sanctions have been imposed on Iran's nuclear
development. However, this has drawn criticism at home. This criticism What
interpretation rights are being pushed to the DPR . It was because of the support from
most of its members The emergence of this criticism, in the next Iranian resolution,
Indonesia Announced abstention. Indonesian golput made Iran the ambassador United
Nations Mohammad Khazee immediately expressed his opinion Thanks to Indonesia and
say that the resolution will not Prevent Iran from defending its rights, namely through
nuclear development peaceful purpose.5

B. United States of American Withdrawal from JCPOA

The United States' exit from the deal made a deal nuclear Iran is in a vulnerable
position. The signatory survivors are required to be able to protect Iran from sanctions the
United States has reintroduced. On the other side of Iran increasingly confirms his stance
on the nuclear deal Iran is a deal that is no longer negotiable. Increasing tension between
Iran and the United States now brings immediate consequences to the Iranian threat
aimed at the United States and its closest allies in the East Middle, this condition is
further increasing the escalation of regional conflicts.
The concern that becomes polemic in the JCPOA is that Iran will use sanctions
relief to stir up back to its economy. Iran is considered unlikely to let go its regional
hegemon status even though Iran wants to prioritize the economic benefits of oil trading
in the short term, this trade is likely to be exploited for political interests in the long
run.Iran has also managed to keep its nuclear program in check at such a high level that it
then made the JCPOA walk unbalanced. Iran is seen to be the more superior and
benefited because after the JCPOA ended, the country these have the potential to obtain
weapons of mass destruction weapon of mass destruction and at that time.6
The economy will be in better shape and regional influence even bigger so the
deal will eventually benefit Iran unilaterally.The US and its allies in the Middle East have
5
The State Gov 2015, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, viewed March 29, 2020,
6
Arms Control Association 2002. Bush Labels North Korea, Iran, Iraq an “Axis of Evil”. BBC 2017. Iran nuclear
deal: Trump's speech in full, viewed April 05, 2020
a track record of relations which is out of harmony with Iran. Iran's position in the Middle
East which is considered a hegemon also adds to the worryfor the US and its allies with
regard to Iran's behavior considered destabilizing the region with various chaos resulting
from Iranian behavior. Owned antagonistic attitude each country is then unable to
provide a taste trust each other.

The US withdrawal from the JCPOA was psychologically caused consistency of

Trump's thinking regarding the nuclear deal Iran as a bad and unreliable deal because
under the nuclear deal the US and its allies are still sensed the security dilemma that then
drove Trump trying to pressure Iran out of the deal nuclear. Trump did not consider
alternatives, he only maximizing his views regarding the badness of JCPOA and The US
must end its involvement. This can be seen from Trump's attitude that tends to ignore that
view contrary to what he had previously believed, was proven of the dismissal of
important people he should have heard about in his administration, Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson, Advisor National Security HR McMaster and Secretary of Defense John
Mattis. Trump prefers to appoint people who have thoughts with him.
Trump is caught in a trap cognitive that he creates himself which then makes
himself too confident about the decisions he made. This kind of Trump policymaking
process led the policies he takes tend to be irrational. It looks like Trump misjudge the
judgments that strenuous efforts against Iran will soften its stance on Iran, even one year
after the US leaving the JCPOA demonstrates the fact that the greater the ambition The
US presses Iran, the greater the resistance and failure as well unintended consequences.
In case of US exit from The JCPOA did not even have a signatory to the agreement
which supports Trump's move.
V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books

Journals

Law

Internet