U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton on Wednesday warned that not only is Iran not dismantling its nuclear program, it is increasingly pursuing the development of nuclear weapons and continues to threaten international peace and security.
Speaking with reporters, Bolton called Iran a "rogue regime" and "a particular threat in the volatile Middle East."
He noted that the U.S. is pulling out of a decades-old treaty with Iran that affirmed friendly relations between the two nations.
The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it was withdrawing from two international agreements after Iran and the Palestinians complained to the International Court of Justice about U.S. policies.
The ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the principal judicial body of the United Nations. It settles legal disputes between member states and its rulings are binding.
On Wednesday, the court ordered the U.S. to partially lift the sanctions it imposed on Iran and ensure they do not affect the humanitarian aid delivered to the Islamic republic or its civil aviation safety.
Although largely symbolic, the U.S.'s decision to withdraw from the 1955 Treaty of Amity highlights the deteriorating relations between Washington and Tehran.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that withdrawing from the accord was long overdue and followed Iran "groundlessly" bringing a complaint with the ICJ, which challenged U.S. sanctions on the basis that they were a violation of the pact.
Pompeo denounced the Iranian case before the U.N. court as "meritless" and said the Treaty of Amity was meaningless and absurd.
"The Iranians have been ignoring it for an awfully long time, we ought to have pulled out of it decades ago," he said.
Pompeo said the ruling was a "useful point for us to demonstrate the absolute absurdity" of the treaty.
While the ICJ's ruling is legally binding, Pompeo said the administration would proceed with sanctions enforcement with existing exceptions for humanitarian and flight safety transactions.
"The United States has been actively engaged on these issues without regard to any proceeding before the ICJ," he said.
At the same time, he criticized the ruling, saying, "We're disappointed that the court failed to recognize that it has no jurisdiction to issue any order relating to these sanctions with the United States."
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif praised the court's ruling, saying that it was "another failure for sanctions-addicted" U.S. and a "victory for the rule of law."
He said it was imperative for other countries "to collectively counter malign U.S. unilateralism" and accused the U.S. of being an "outlaw regime."
Citing what he called "Iran's abuse of the ICJ," Bolton later said the United States would also withdraw from the "optional protocol" under the 1961 Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations that Iran or others, notably the Palestinians, could use to sue the U.S. at The Hague-based tribunal.
"We will commence a review of all international agreements that may still expose the United States to purported binding jurisdiction, dispute resolution in the International Court of Justice. The United States will not sit idly by as baseless politicized claims are brought against us," Bolton said.
He cited a case brought to the court by the "so-called state of Palestine" challenging the move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as the main reason for withdrawing.
Bolton, who last month unleashed a torrent of criticism against the International Criminal Court, noted that previous Republican administrations had pulled out of various international agreements and bodies over "politicized cases."
"This really has less to do with Iran and the Palestinians than with the continued consistent policy of the United States to reject the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, which we think is politicized and ineffective," Bolton said.
"I'd like to stress," he added, "the United States remains a party to the underlying Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and we expect all other parties to abide by their international obligations under the convention."
