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NEW YORK (AP) – The administration of US President Donald Trump said Saturday night that all UN sanctions against Iran were back in effect and that the conventional arms embargo against Iran would not expire in mid-September. October.
But 13 of the 15 member states of the UN Security Council, including former allies of the United States, say Washington’s move is invalid. Diplomats say only a few countries are likely to reimpose the measures that were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement: “The return of sanctions today is a step towards international peace and security … In the coming days … the United States will announce a set of measures additional measures to strengthen the application of UN sanctions and hold violators accountable. “
Here’s a look at the events that led up to this confrontation and what could happen next.
Why will the arms embargo on Iran end?
The UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Iran in 2007.
The ban will expire on October 18 under the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran, Russia, China, Germany, Britain, France and the United States. The deal bans Tehran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief. The agreement was included in a Security Council resolution in 2015.
In 2018, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, withdrew from the nuclear agreement concluded by the administration of his predecessor, Barack Obama, describing it as “the worst agreement in history.” The United States failed last month to try to extend the embargo on Iran in the Security Council.
What does this mean for the 2015 nuclear deal?
The parties that remained involved in the nuclear deal said they were committed to preserving it. Iran said the agreement would remain in force despite the United States’ move at the United Nations.
Britain, France and Germany told the UN Security Council on Friday that Iran’s exemption from UN sanctions would continue beyond September 20.
“We have worked tirelessly to preserve the nuclear deal and we remain committed to that,” the envoys from the three European parties wrote in a letter to the Council, seen by Reuters.
What sanctions will return?
The return of the UN sanctions would force Iran to suspend all activities related to enrichment and reprocessing, including research and development, and would prohibit the importation of anything that could contribute to those activities or the development of delivery systems of nuclear weapons.
It will also include reimposing an arms embargo on Iran, preventing it from developing ballistic missiles capable of launching nuclear weapons, and resuming targeted sanctions against dozens of people and entities. Countries will also be urged to examine shipments to and from Iran and allow them to seize any prohibited shipments.
What led things to that conclusion?
The United States filed a complaint with the UN Security Council about Iran’s violation of the nuclear deal last month.
Since the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal, Washington has imposed strong unilateral sanctions in an attempt to force Iran to re-negotiate a new deal, and in response, Iran has violated basic restrictions imposed by the deal, including its reservation of enriched uranium.
The United States says that, under a 2015 UN Security Council resolution that includes the nuclear deal in its system, it has activated a 30-day process to re-impose all UN sanctions on Iran. Washington believes that despite his withdrawal from the nuclear deal, the resolution still considers him a participant in it.
The Security Council was asked to vote within 30 days on a resolution to continue easing the sanctions imposed on Iran. Unless such a decision is made before the deadline, all UN sanctions that were in effect before the 2015 nuclear deal will be automatically reimposed. This decision was not put to a vote.
Last month, Indonesia, which chaired the UN Security Council in August, said it was “not in a position to take further action” regarding the US attempt to trigger the return of all international organization sanctions against Iran. because the matter is not unanimous within the council.
Thirteen of the 15 countries on the Security Council say they oppose Washington’s measures, considering them invalid, given that they use a process within the nuclear agreement to which they are no longer party.
Pompeo warned on Saturday, saying: “If the member states of the United Nations do not comply with their obligations to impose these sanctions, the United States is prepared to use its internal powers to impose consequences for these failures.”
What will the United States do now?
Sources told Reuters that Trump intends to issue an executive order allowing him to impose sanctions on anyone who violates the United Nations ‘conventional arms embargo on Iran in an attempt to reinforce the United States’ insistence that the move it has been extended indefinitely beyond October 18.
The sources, who asked not to be named, said Thursday that the executive order is expected to be issued in the coming days and that it will allow the president to punish foreign offenders, as US entities are already prohibited from conducting arms-related deals with Iran and deny them access to the US market.
How could a government led by Democrat Joe Biden deal with Iran?
Three senior Iranian officials told Reuters that the country’s leadership intends to remain committed to the nuclear deal in the hope that the victory of Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden in the US presidential election on November 3 , I can save the deal.
Biden, who was Obama’s deputy at the time of negotiating the nuclear deal, said he would return his country as part of it if Iran returned first to comply with all its provisions.
“If Iran strictly adheres to the nuclear deal again, the United States will come back to join the deal and build on it while working with its allies to counter Iran’s destabilizing actions,” said Biden’s campaign spokesman Andrew Bates. (Reuters)
