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WASHINGTON: The United States unilaterally proclaimed on Saturday that UN sanctions against Iran are back in effect and vowed to punish those who violate them, in a move that threatens to increase Washington’s isolation but also international tensions.
“Today, the United States welcomes the return of virtually all UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
According to him, the measures “were back in force” as of 8 pm Washington time (0000 GMT Sunday).
The administration of US President Donald Trump also promised to “impose consequences” on any UN member state that does not comply with the sanctions, although it is one of the only countries in the world that believes they are in force.
The threat is formidable: Those that Washington deems defiant will be denied access to the US financial system and markets.
“If UN member states fail to meet their obligations to implement these sanctions, the United States is willing to use our national authorities to impose consequences for those rulings and ensure that Iran does not reap the benefits of activities prohibited by the UN,” Pompeo stated.
He promised that measures against the “offenders” will be announced in the coming days.
False requirement
With 45 days until the Nov. 2 election, Trump could reveal those measures during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Yet Washington is almost alone on the issue: all the other great powers – China, Russia, and also America’s own European allies – have challenged the claim.
“Any decision or action taken with a view to reinstating (the sanctions) would have no legal effect,” France, Britain and Germany said in a joint letter sent to the Security Council on Friday, of which AFP has obtained a copy.
The Americans themselves realize that the statement is a “false claim,” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Saturday.
How did the UN come to this spectacular showdown between the leading superpower and the rest of the planet? To answer that, one has to go back at least a month.
In mid-August, the Trump administration suffered a resounding defeat in the UN Security Council when it tried to extend the conventional arms embargo that was being sent to Tehran, which was due to expire in October.
Pompeo launched an unusually vehement attack on France, Britain and Germany, accusing them of “siding with Iran’s ayatollahs,” and on August 20 he announced a controversial maneuver known as a “snapback,” which aimed to reinstate all sanctions. against Tehran a month later.
The sanctions were lifted in 2015 when Iran signed an international agreement not to seek to build nuclear weapons.
But Trump said the landmark deal, brokered by his predecessor Barack Obama, was insufficient and withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018, then renewed and even strengthened Washington’s bilateral sanctions.
Legal pirouette
At the moment, the US insists that it is still a participant in the agreement from which it withdrew, but only so that it can activate the “snapback” option.
Virtually every other member of the Security Council questions Washington’s ability to execute this legal pirouette, and the council has taken no further action.
But this dialogue of the deaf has continued unabated: the Trump administration acts as if international sanctions are in place, while the rest of the international community continues to act as if nothing has changed.
Washington is insisting that the arms embargo has been extended “indefinitely” and that many activities related to Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs are now subject to international sanctions.
But “I don’t see anything happening,” said a UN diplomat. “It would just be a statement. It’s like pulling a trigger and no bullets come out. “
Another diplomat deplored the “unilateral” act by the United States, saying that “Russia and China are sitting happily eating popcorn, watching” the “enormous destabilizing consequences” between Washington and their European partners.
But if the United States complied with the threat of secondary sanctions, tensions could continue to rise.
