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US-IRAN-UN-SANCTIONS NEWSERIES
US defies world to say Iran UN sanctions back in effect
WASHINGTON, Sept 20, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The United States unilaterally
proclaimed on Saturday that UN sanctions against Iran are back in
force and promised to punish those who violate them, in a move that
risks increasing Washington’s isolation but also international
tensions.
“Today, the United States welcomes the return of virtually all
previously terminated 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 effect” from 8:00 pm
Washington time (0000 GMT Sunday).
The government of US President Donald Trump also promised to
“impose consequences” on any UN member state which does not comply
with the sanctions, even though it is one of the only countries in the
world which believes they are in force.
The threat is formidable: those deemed to be in defiance by
Washington will be denied access to the US financial system and
markets.
“If UN member states fail to fulfill their obligations to implement
these sanctions, the United States is prepared to use our domestic
authorities to impose consequences for those failures and ensure that
Iran does not reap the benefits of UN-prohibited activity,” Pompeo
stated.
He promised that measures would be announced in coming days against
“violators.”
– ‘False claim’ –
With 45 days to go until the November 2 election, Trump could
unveil those measures during his speech at the UN General Assembly on
Tuesday.
However Washington is almost alone on the issue: all the other
great powers — China, Russia and also the US’ own European allies —
have challenged the claim.
“Any decision or action taken with a view to re-installing (the
sanctions) would be incapable of legal effect,” France, Britain and
Germany said in a joint letter sent Friday to the Security Council and
of which AFP has obtained a copy.
The Americans themselves realize the statement is a “false claim,”
Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif said Saturday.
How did the UN arrive at this spectacular stand-off between the
leading superpower and the rest of the planet? To answer that, one has
to go back at least one month.
In mid-August, Trump’s administration suffered a resounding defeat
at the UN Security Council when it tried to extend the embargo on
conventional weapons being sent to Tehran, which was due to expire in
October.
Pompeo made an unusually vehement attack on France, Britain and
Germany, accusing them of “siding with Iran’s ayatollahs,” and on
August 20 announced a controversial move known as the “snapback,”
which aimed to re-establish all sanctions against Tehran a month
later.
The sanctions were lifted in 2015 when Iran signed on to an
international agreement not to seek to build nuclear weapons.
But Trump said that the landmark accord, negotiated by his
predecessor Barack Obama, was insufficient and withdrew the US from
the agreement in 2018, then renewed and even strengthened Washington’s
bilateral sanctions.
– Legal pirouette –
At the moment, the US is insisting it is still a participant in the
agreement that it stormed out of, but only so that it can activate the
“snapback” option.
Virtually every other member of the Security Council disputes
Washington’s ability to execute this legal pirouette, and the council
has not taken the measure any further.
But this dialogue of the deaf has gone on unabated: The Trump
administration acts as if the international sanctions are in place,
while the rest of the international community continues to act as if
nothing has changed.
Washington is hammering home 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 one UN diplomat. “It
would be just a statement. It’s like pulling a trigger and no bullet
coming out.”
Another diplomat deplored the “unilateral” US act, saying that
“Russia and China are sitting, happy, eating popcorn, watching” the
“huge destabilizing fallout” between Washington and its European
partners.
But if the United States were to carry out the threat of secondary
sanctions, tensions could continue to spiral.
BSS/AFP/MRU/0835hrs