US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo submitted a letter to Indonesia’s UN ambassador, who holds the presidency of the Security Council, and to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, notifying them “that the United States is initiating the restoration of virtually all UN sanctions on Iran lifted under UN Security Council Resolution 2231. This process will lead to those sanctions coming back into effect 30 days from today,” he said in New York.
“Our message is very, very simple. The United States will never allow the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism to freely buy and sell planes, tanks, missiles, and other kinds of conventional weapons. These UN sanctions will continue the arms embargo,” said Pompeo.
Washington is attempting to invoke a “snapback” mechanism described in the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that restores United Nations sanctions against Iran that were lifted under the agreement. The US withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018.
The foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany issued a joint statement responding to Pompeo’s letter. They noted the US has withdrawn from the nuclear deal. “We cannot therefore support this action which is incompatible with our current efforts to support the JCPOA,” they stated.
“We remain committed to the JCPOA despite the significant challenges caused by US withdrawal,” the ministers stating, urging dialogue to address concerns.
Russia has requested a Security Council meeting on Iran on Friday, Reuters reported.
Iran describes the Trump administration’s attempt to initiate the “snapback” sanctions as an “extreme case of bad faith.”
“The Iranian people expect the UN Security Council to bring the United States to account for the irreparable harm inflicted on the entire Iranian nation merely for reasons of personal aggrandizement or domestic political expediency,” read a statement published by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
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