Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday evening that the US has reimposed UN sanctions against Iran, a move expected to be effectively ignored by global allies and adversaries alike.
The latest move is the latest in the “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran — one that has left the US largely isolated. It comes after the administration failed to extend the conventional weapons embargo set to expire next month under the Iran nuclear deal.
“The United States expects all UN Member States to fully comply with their obligations to implement these measures. In addition to the arms embargo, this includes restrictions such as the ban on Iran engaging in enrichment and reprocessing-related activities, the prohibition on ballistic missile testing and development by Iran, and sanctions on the transfer of nuclear- and missile-related technologies to Iran, among others. 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 said in a statement.
Other countries have rejected the US’ argument that it could reimpose the UN sanctions that had been lifted under the Iran nuclear deal as the Trump administration withdrew from the deal in 2018. They are not expected to recognize the snapback sanctions.
“In the coming days, the United States will announce a range of additional measures to strengthen implementation of UN sanctions and hold violators accountable,” Pompeo said without providing additional details on those measures.
CNN has reached out to the Iran mission to the UN for comment.
Experts have told CNN that this unilateral effort — which comes less than two months before the presidential election — is unlikely to have an impact on arms sales on its own. Some say the move further alienates the US from its E3 allies — Germany, France and the United Kingdom — and serves to further undercut the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.
