US Push for ‘Snapback’ of Iran Sanctions to Only Undermine UN's Authority: Russia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Washington’s push to snap back the UN sanctions against Tehran will get nowhere and will only undermine the UN Security Council’s authority.
“It will produce no result anyway, but it might eventually lead to a very serious scandal and a rift within the UN Security Council, and, in the final analysis, undermine its authority,” Lavrov said in an interview with Russia’s TASS news agency on Sunday.
He called the bid “reckless,” and said, “We understand that the vast majority of nations realize the incorrectness and counter-productivity of this attempt.”
On Friday, the US one more time got isolated over its bid to reimpose international sanctions on Iran with 13 countries on the 15-member UN Security Council opposing it, arguing that Washington’s move is void given it is using a process agreed under a nuclear deal it quit two years ago.
In the 24 hours since US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he triggered a 30-day countdown to a return of UN sanctions on Iran, including an arms embargo, Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium as well as China, Russia, Vietnam, Niger, Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines, South Africa, Indonesia, Estonia and Tunisia have already written letters in opposition.
Diplomats said Russia, China, and many other countries are unlikely to reimpose the sanctions on Iran. Pompeo again warned Russia and China against that on Friday, threatening US action if they refuse to reimpose the UN measures on Iran.
The United States acted on Thursday after the Security Council resoundingly rejected its bid last week to extend an arms embargo on Iran beyond its expiration in October. Only the Dominican Republic joined Washington in voting yes.
The Dominican Republic has not yet written to the council to state its position on the sanctions snapback push.
Under the process Washington says it has triggered, it appears all UN sanctions should be reimposed on September 19 – just days before Trump is due to address world leaders at the UN General Assembly, the annual meeting that will be largely virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic.
