US Unable to Enforce UN Sanctions on Iran, Zarif Says
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif once again stressed that the US is no longer a participant of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, and will not be able to reimpose the UN Security Council sanctions on Tehran on September 20.
“Wrong again, @SecPompeo. Nothing new happens on 9/20 Just 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿 Res.2231 Bolton—who convinced the boss to order you to ‘CEASE US participation’—did. In his words: -Process is not ‘simple’, automatic or snappy. But intentionally ‘complex & lengthy’ -US is 𝙉𝙊𝙏 a participant,” Zarif tweeted on Thursday.
The tweet came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday told reporters, “We’ll do all the things we need to do to ensure that those sanctions are enforced.”
A senior UN Security Council diplomat later said on condition of anonymity, “It’s like pulling a trigger and no bullet comes out,” “There will be no snapback, the sanctions will remain suspended, the JCPOA (nuclear deal) will remain in place.”
On August 20, Pompeo had formally notified the United Nations of Washington’s demand for all the UN sanctions on Iran to be restored, citing what he claimed to be Iranian violations of the nuclear deal. Tehran clinched the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with six world powers, including the US, in 2015, but Washington left the agreement under President Donald Trump three years later.