Russia on Thursday dismissed U.S. intentions to trigger snapback sanctions on Iran and said that because President Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, he cannot reimpose the penalties.
The United Nations Security Council on Friday rejected U.S.-led efforts to extend an arms embargo on Iran that is set to expire in October. The verdict led the U.S. to announce that it pans to restore a slew of UN sanctions — informally known as “snapback sanctions” — on Iran in an effort to maintain a “maximum pressure campaign” on the Iranian government.
“We will not take it as snapback,” said Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia, Reuters reported.
“He’s not triggering a snapback. Snapback can be triggered by a country that is a participant of the JCPOA, which the U.S. is not,” he told reporters, citing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal, that the Trump administration withdrew from in 2018.
The Trump administration has repeatedly argued that ending the arms embargo would be disastrous for the Middle East and for U.S. national security because it would give Tehran sudden access to a buffet of Chinese and Russian-made weapons previously acquirable only through nefarious channels.
China and Russia — both of which are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and hold veto power — publicly objected to the extension leading up to the vote.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to travel to the U.N. headquarters in New York Thursday to formally begin the process of reinstating the sanctions against Iran.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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