An international blow to Trump: no return to sanctions



[ad_1]

The confrontation between the United States and Iran has moved in the early morning of September 20, 2020 to a new level that may be more dangerous than in the past two years. After considering that Iran was subject to international sanctions, the United States announced that it was about to adopt new measures in line with this reality. Tehran, along with all international parties, rejects this US position, stating that it is illegal. While waiting to see how this chapter of the conflict will translate on the ground, the lack of international involvement in the US attack is another setback for Donald Trump in his war against Iran.

Despite the continuous escalation in the pace of the confrontation between the United States and Iran during the last two years, Tehran has ensured throughout the aforementioned period that its behavior in the confrontation is far from provoking the rest of the international parties, especially European countries, since the Islamic Republic sought to align these parties with its side. When his confrontation with the United States reaches the arena of the UN Security Council.
The first proof of the effectiveness of this path that Iran followed came in the middle of last month, when Washington presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo imposed on Iran, which is due to end in agreement. with Resolution 2231 of the Security Council that includes the nuclear agreement next October. The result was positive for Iran. Washington failed to get support, after Russia and China refused, and 13 other members, including European countries, abstained.
The fact that Washington did not approve the resolution led him, a week later, to request the UN Security Council to activate the “Snapback” mechanism contained in Article 11 of International Resolution 2231, which gives the right to any country to participate in the nuclear agreement to request its activation in the event that either party does not comply with the nuclear agreement. And since the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018, the Security Council rejected the United States’ request due to the lack of consensus among its members on the right of the United States to use this clause. Hence, Iran achieved its second success on this path. But at the same time he was facing a third test, as Washington did not accept the rejection of his request by the Security Council, and announced at that time that it would consider the United Nations sanctions imposed on Iran between 2006 and 2010 in force, a as of September 20, based on a paragraph. In article 11, it establishes that “if the council does not issue a new decision confirming the continuation of the termination of the sanctions within 30 days, the sanctions will take effect.”
Yesterday at dawn, the 30-day deadline expired, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the return of all United Nations sanctions imposed on Iran, noting that the latter is now obligated to stop uranium enrichment. and heavy activities related to water, plus it will remain under a permanent arms embargo. Pompeo called on all United Nations member states to fully adhere to these sanctions, threatening dire consequences if the United Nations does not implement those sanctions. In this context, Pompeo revealed new measures that his country will announce in the coming days to strengthen the imposition of UN sanctions on Iran and hold its violators accountable.

Pompeo revealed new measures that his country will announce in the coming days to strengthen the imposition of UN sanctions

Iran, for its part, hastened, through its representative at the United Nations, to refute the US statement, while the State Department threatened in a statement to ‘respond decisively’ to the United States if it took action directly or in cooperation with its allies in the context of the threat announced by Pompeo. Washington has all the dangerous consequences derived from any measure that may happen. At the same time, the eyes on Tehran were waiting for the European position because it is the most important criterion for Tehran when determining the effectiveness of the method of confrontation it chose.
The European position was not too late, as the French delegate to the United Nations, Nicolas de Riviere, declared that “the lifting of the UN sanctions on Iran will remain in force”, stressing that “Tehran will remain responsible until it complies with its obligations”. He added that “France, Germany and Great Britain will remain committed to the full implementation of the nuclear agreement,” considering that “the agreement is the only way forward to contain the Iranian nuclear program.” For his part, the European Union’s foreign policy coordinator, Josep Borrell, said that “the United States cannot reimpose the United Nations sanctions”, highlighting “the need to remain committed to lifting those sanctions under the agreement. nuclear, as well as the need to refrain from any escalation in the current situation. ” He asked “to preserve the nuclear agreement, since it is a fundamental pillar of the global system.” Subsequently, the foreign ministers of the European Troika (France, Germany, Great Britain) issued a statement, in which they stated that “any US decision on sanctions on Iran will have no legal effect.”

Likewise, Russia saw through its representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Poliansky, that “the United States shows with this step its determination to undermine international law.” Then, in a statement from the Foreign Ministry, Russia called on Washington to “immediately stop destroying the nuclear deal and undermine Security Council Resolution 2231”.
It should be noted that some during the last hours were waiting for the position of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, because, according to a report by the International Crisis Group, last Thursday, “if you are convinced of the legitimacy of the US use of the Snapback mechanism, can form a committee of international experts to monitor violations of sanctions decisions. The UN that imposed itself on Iran in the past. “It also” submits a report to the Security Council on the implementation of Resolution 2231 to the Security Council every six months, and the next report is supposed to be presented next December. ” These two reasons, in accordance with the expectations of “international crises”, may push Guterres to take a position on these developments, which has already happened, since he declared that “no action could be taken due to the uncertainty about the activation of the mechanism. Snapback on the deal. “The UN Secretary-General’s announcement came after he informed the Security Council on Saturday that he” cannot take any action against a US declaration to reimpose all UN sanctions on Iran, given that there are doubts on the subject “He explained in that letter that” there seem to be doubts about whether the process … has really begun and, at the same time, doubts about whether the end of the sanctions continues in v igor “. He added: “The Secretary General cannot proceed as if such a suspicion does not exist.”
In the context of these satisfactory international positions for Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced “the third consecutive defeat of the United States in the UN Security Council”, which, according to him, is “the failure of Washington to find a consensus. against Iran, “threatening the United States with a” decisive response “if” She used her intimidation to impose sanctions that all countries rejected. ” Rouhani also did not neglect to respond to the French position, which promised that Iran would remain responsible for fulfilling its obligations under the nuclear agreement, thus linking compliance with this requirement to the commitment of the five member states to the decisions of the agreement. This is the same position that Iran has been announcing since the beginning of its dissolution of the obligations of the nuclear agreement in response to the United States’ withdrawal from the agreement and the European reluctance to provide an incentive package that compensates Tehran’s economy for the damage caused by US sanctions.
The official Iranian position that celebrates the failure of the United States to achieve an international consensus against Iran does not correspond to the same celebration of opinion leaders. Iranian analysts, while some consider what has been achieved an important step, others measure the extent of the importance of the ability to have a practical impact on the ground. The reformist newspaper Arman Melli believes that “what is happening is a European procrastination awaiting the US elections.” In his opinion, this “does not work in Tehran’s interests, because Europe will have no serious incentives to oppose Trump if he wins, and in the event that Joe Biden wins, he will hope Iran will sit at the negotiating table, but without accept current short-term conditions, which will push him to increase pressure on Iran. “

Subscribe to «News» on YouTube here

[ad_2]