Zarif: Bid to Return Sanctions Illegal, Unacceptable

EghtesadOnline: The US attempt to use the mechanism foreseen in the 2015 nuclear deal to return all global sanctions on Tehran is "illegal" and "unacceptable", the Iranian foreign minister said.

News ID: ۷۵۰۷۲۱

17 August 2020

"Americans know that they cannot use the snapback [mechanism]," Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by IRNA on Sunday.

The US has announced that it will activate the so-called snapback mechanism next week after the United Nations Security Council rejected its resolution on extending Iran's arms embargo on Friday.

The conventional weapons ban is set to expire in October as agreed in the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which is enshrined in UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

The US has already abandoned the deal and restored tough sanctions on Tehran. Its draft resolution aimed to extend the restrictions indefinitely, but did not gain the support of the 15-member council.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called it a "mistake" by UNSC that "America will continue to work to correct".

He referred to the threat to trigger the JCPOA mechanism, although it is no longer a party to the deal.

"We'll be doing a snapback; you'll be watching it next week," US President Donald Trump said on Saturday.

To do so, the US would have to submit a complaint about Iran breaching the nuclear deal to the UN Security Council.

The council would then have to vote within 30 days on a resolution to continue Iran’s sanctions relief. If such a resolution is not put forward by the deadline, all UN sanctions in place before JCPOA would be automatically reimposed.

"Do not think that if they say something loudly and repeat it, they have a point," Zarif said.

Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Mohsen Baharvand also said the US plan has no legal ground and lacks international support.

Speaking on the Al Araby Television, Baharvand said the agreement itself will prevent Washington from triggering the mechanism.

"America would need to act within the framework of JCPOA whereas it exited the deal itself [in 2018]," he said.

Besides, he added, other members of the international community will not support the US in its attempt to return the sanctions on Tehran, as it would spell the end of the nuclear deal.

China and Russia have opposed the measure, saying the US is not entitled to use JCPOA provisions while European parties have stressed the need to keep the deal alive as an essential tool to guarantee the global non-proliferation regime and ensure regional security.

"The Americans do not realize that they cannot use the snapback mechanism unilaterally and without other JCPOA parties," Baharvand said.