US demands restoration of UN sanctions against Iran
US State Secretary, Mike Pompeo, has announced the demand of the restoration of sanctions on Iran.
The Trump administration on Thursday formally notified the United Nations of its demand for all UN sanctions on Iran to be restored.
Pompeo cited significant Iranian violations of the 2015 nuclear deal.
While notifying the president of the UN Security Council, Pompeo set the stage for a showdown in the world body that could lead to a crisis of credibility for its most important and powerful institution.
Speaking to reporters at the UN, after delivering the letter Pompeo said the US had the right to reimpose sanctions under UN resolution 2231 that laid out the rules of the deal.
“We think this is really straightforward we think this is very simple. These UN Security Council resolutions will come back into place 31 days from now, and the United States will vigorously enforce them,” Pompeo said.
He said he expected the other UN Security Council members to “comply with their obligations”.
Iran’s Ambassador to the UN, Majid Takht Ravanchi, said on Thursday the US letter was “inadmissible”.
“The US has no legal authority. The US has no legal argument whatsoever,” he said.
Ravanchi said the US had failed to utilise the dispute process under resolution 2231 and before notifying the Security Council must make “good faith efforts to resolve the issue” and said the US move is “doomed to failure”.
“We are confident that nothing is going to happen in the next 30 days. So, the US attempt is is in futility,” Ravanchi said.
Even before Pompeo presented the council president with the notice, other members rejected the step.
None of the other council members believes the United States has the legal right to demand the reimposition, or “snapback”, of sanctions because President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018.
As such, the demand is expected to further isolate the US at the UN and test the Security Council’s credibility.
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