DOHA: The US has moved to restore all UN sanctions on Iran on Thursday, stating Tehran was in violation of a nuclear deal it struck with world powers in 2015 even though Washington itself abandoned that agreement two years ago.
The US submitted a letter to the UN Security Council accusing Tehran of non-compliance, starting a 30-day clock that could lead to the “snapback” of U.N. sanctions even though remaining parties to the nuclear deal oppose this. The US move drew condemnation from Iran, which said Washington had no right to trigger the re-imposition because it had abandoned the nuclear agreement and asked Security Council members to oppose the US action.
“It is an enormous mistake not to extend this arms embargo. It’s nuts!” Pompeo told reporters at the UN Nations as he criticised what he described as the “one-sided, foolish” nuclear deal negotiated by former US President Barack Obama.
A snapback of U.N. sanctions would reimpose the conventional arms embargo, ban Iran from developing ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and bring back targetted sanctions on dozens of individuals and entities.
It would also require Iran to halt all nuclear enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, and ban imports that could contribute to those activities or the development of nuclear arms delivery systems. Countries also would be urged to inspect shipments to and from Iran and authorized to seize any banned cargo.
Iran’s UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi said Tehran was confident that the Security Council would reject the US move. “A permanent member of the Security Council is acting like a child, is being ridiculed by the other members of the international community,” he told reporters after Pompeo spoke.