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Iran nuclear deal
image copyrightAtta Kenare via Getty
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the United States “faces defeat” in its decision to reimpose UN sanctions on the country, as European allies called the unilateral declaration legally void.
In a televised speech, Rouhani said Iran “will give a crushing response to the harassment of the United States.
The Trump administration said the measures were being reimposed under the mechanism of a deal that the United States has resigned.
The United Kingdom, France and Germany said that the United States had no power to carry out such a move.
The three countries, along with China, Russia and the United States, were part of a landmark agreement signed with Iran in 2015 to curb its nuclear program.
But President Donald Trump, a critic of the Obama-era deal, withdrew the United States from it in 2018.
Iran began to default on some of the commitments it had made, including enriching more uranium than it should.
The United States said the country should be punished, declaring that all UN sanctions that had been suspended would be reimposed – a mechanism agreed upon in the deal called a “snapback” – and that a conventional arms embargo on Iran would no longer expire on the 18th. October.
But Washington’s announcement has been rejected by virtually all members of the UN Security Council, and the body has not taken the step further. The impact of the decision remains unclear.
How has Iran reacted?
In his speech, Rouhani added: “The United States is approaching some defeat in its sanctions movement … It faced defeat and a negative response from the international community.”
Previously, Iran’s Foreign Ministry described the US efforts as “futile” and said that “the US approach is a major threat to international peace and security and an unprecedented threat to the UN and the Council. of security”.
“Iran emphasizes that if the United States, directly or with the cooperation of several of its allies, takes any action in line with these threats, it will face a serious reaction and should account for all its dangerous consequences,” he said in a statement, without giving more details.
How has the world reacted?
The United Kingdom and France, two permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as Germany, said Washington’s announcement was “incapable of having any legal effect” as the United States used a mechanism of the agreement that it had abandoned.
“It follows from this that the decisions and actions that would be taken based on this procedure or on its possible outcome would also be incapable of having any legal effect,” they said in a joint statement. “We have worked tirelessly to preserve the nuclear deal and remain committed to doing so.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry, another permanent member of the Security Council, said: “Illegitimate initiatives and actions by the United States, by definition, cannot have international legal consequences for other countries.”
On Saturday, UN Secretary General AntóGuterres told the Security Council that he could not take any action because “there appears to be uncertainty” on the matter. But US officials argue that despite having abandoned the agreement, they still have the right to activate the “snapback” clause.
In a statement late Saturday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said measures would be announced in the coming days against countries that don’t apply the sanctions, without giving details.
After abandoning the deal, the United States unilaterally reinstated sanctions on Iran which, combined with a drop in oil prices, have paralyzed the country’s economy, which has also been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The announcement comes about six weeks before the US presidential election. Trump faces off against his Democratic rival Joe Biden, who has vowed to bring the United States back to the deal.
