‘US attempts to renew sanctions on Iran lack legal basis’

The United States’ push to reimpose sanctions against Iran can lead to a deep crisis within the United Nations Security Council, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday, TASS reported.

“We are seriously concerned that Washington’s actions, which we consider to be reckless, can lead to a crisis, perhaps a very deep crisis, within the [UN] Security Council,” she emphasized.

“Unfortunately, it seems that it doesn’t at all bother our American colleagues,” she added. “We urge all countries to strongly resist that,” Zakharova said.

According to her, “US initiatives to renew the UN Security Council’s resolutions on sanctions against Iran, which were revoked following the 2015 signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program, lack legal basis and will inevitably fail.”

The Russian diplomat went on to say that the US had no right to take advantage of the UN Security Council’s authority to achieve its own goals.

“The US has been blatantly violating UN Security Council Resolution 2231 since May 2018, when Washington unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA, introduced sanctions on Iran and started pressing other countries, preventing them from implementing their obligations stemming from the UN Security Council’s decisions, which is absolutely illegal,” Zakharova noted.

“Russia condemns US plans to continue its policy course aimed at destroying the JCPOA and undermining Resolution 2231,” she concluded.

Following Washington’s new push to invoke the so-called snapback provision in the JCPOA and reimpose all UN sanctions against Tehran, Foreign Minister Zarif sent a letter to the chairman of the UN Security Council on Thursday.

In a letter addressed to the current president of the Security Council, the ambassador from Indonesia, Zarif has highlighted the legal and political aspects of the US move which runs counter to international rules and norms.

He  blasted the US’ illegal attempts to snapback sanctions on Iran, reiterating that the US has no right to reapply provisions of terminated resolutions.

In reaction to the US request to initiate the ‘snapback’ mechanism, the E3 also announced their opposition, saying that they will not support this action which is incompatible with current efforts to support the JCPOA.