Russia Warns against US Attempts to Restore All Sanctions on Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Washington’s threats to raise the question of restoring all previously lifted sanctions against Iran may lead to a serious crisis within the UN Security Council, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned.
"I think it’s outrageous that the US administration now tries to freely pick and choose what serves its interests in complete rejection of the views of others and even in complete rejection of common sense, trying to defeat JCPOA," Ryabkov said during a videoconference of the New York Council on Foreign Relations, TASS reported.
The remarks came after US officials said that Washington would seek to restore all previously canceled sanctions against Iran if the UN Security Council fails to preserve the embargo on weapons supplies to Tehran, which expires this fall.
"If this will happen the way as you suggest and, as many think-tankers, many op-ed writers, just people knowledgeable of this belief, would happen, then we will inevitably end in a severe crisis situation at the Security Council," the Russian diplomat continued. "And it would be a huge blow to the sovereignty of the Security Council, and the US will bear responsibility for this."
He said Washington withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which envisages the mechanism of triggering the ‘snapback’ sanctions, "subsequently approved by the UN Security Council resolution."
US Special Representative for Iran and Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State Brian Hook said at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation on Tuesday that the US was ready to raise the issue of restoring all sanctions against Tehran if the arms embargo is not extended.