European countries have warned the United States (U.S.) against re-imposing United Nations (U.N.) mandated sanctions on Iran and from imposing fresh sanctions on European nations for not supporting the U.S.
In a joint statement today, i.e., Sunday, September 20, 2020, France, Germany and United Kingdom (U.K.), which is commonly referred as E3 said that any attempt by the U.S. to impose its own sanctions on countries not complying with the reimposed U.N. ones is also legally void.
Earlier on Saturday, i.e., September 19, 2020, U.S. broke with all the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (U.N.S.C.) and unilaterally declared the re-imposition of all U.N. sanctions against Iran. This claim received wide criticism from Iran and all the members of the U.N.S.C.
The U.S. said that it has authority to re-impose sanctions as it was the original signatory of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal. The JCPOA deal was signed on July 14, 2015 in Vienna. The members to the deal included Iran, the P5+1 (the 5 permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, U.K., U.S. – plus Germany) and European Union (E.U.). It stated that Iran will eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium, cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%, and reduce by about 2/3rd the number of its gas centrifuges for 13 years. For the next 15 years, Iran would only enrich uranium up to 3.67%. However, the deal fell through when U.S. left the JCPOA deal in 2018. Post this, Iran started producing low-enriched uranium beyond the permissible limits of JCPOA.
On re-imposing of sanctions, the U.S. Secretary of States – Mike Pompeo said that all member states must comply with the sanctions. Pompeo also said that U.S. will shortly announce additional measures to strengthen implementation of UN sanctions and hold violators accountable.
In a series of tweets, Pompeo tweeted, “We will not hesitate to enforce our sanctions, and we expect all @UN Member States to fully comply with their obligations under these re-imposed restrictions.”
We will not hesitate to enforce our sanctions, and we expect all @UN Member States to fully comply with their obligations under these re-imposed restrictions.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) September 20, 2020
“Soon, we will announce a range of additional measures to strengthen enforcement of @UN sanctions on Iran. Our maximum pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will continue until it stops spreading chaos, violence, and bloodshed,” tweeted Pompeo.
On the contrary, the other signatories state that since U.S. exited the deal on its own, it no longer has a unilateral legal right to either declare Iran in breach of the agreement or to reimpose sanctions in the name of the U.N.
The Joint Statement from E3 read, “The United States of America ceased to be a participant in the JCPOA following their withdrawal from the agreement on 8 May, 2018. Consequently, the notification received from the United States and transmitted to the member states of the [UN] security council, has no legal effect. It follows that any decision or action which would be taken on the basis of this procedure or its outcome have no legal effect.”
The statement further read, “Our goal remains to preserve the authority and integrity of the United Nations security council. The E3s remain committed to fully implementing security council resolution 2231, which endorsed the JCPOA in 2015. We have worked tirelessly to preserve the nuclear deal and we remain committed to continuing to do so.”
The E3 have already sent a letter to the U.NS.C. challenging the U.S. right to reimpose sanctions unilaterally in the name of the U.N. The European Union (EU) Foreign Affair Minister – Josep Borrell Fontelles said that JCPOA deal was a key pillar of the architecture of the world system of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and by comprehensively addressing Iran’s nuclear programme, it contributes to regional and global security.
Sharing his thoughts on twitter, Borrell tweeted, “US unilaterally ceased participation in #JCPOA on 8 May 2018 and has subsequently not participated in any JCPOA-related activities. It cannot, therefore, be considered to be a JCPOA participant State and cannot initiate the process of reinstating UN sanctions under UNSC res. 2231.”
He also tweeted, “As coordinator of the #JCPOA Joint Commission I will continue to do everything possible to ensure the preservation and full implementation of the #Irandeal by all.”
US unilaterally ceased participation in #JCPOA on 8 May 2018 and has subsequently not participated in any JCPOA-related activities. It cannot, therefore, be considered to be a JCPOA participant State and cannot initiate the process of reinstating UN sanctions under UNSC res. 2231 https://t.co/4Uo1h7vM8v
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) September 20, 2020
As coordinator of the #JCPOA Joint Commission I will continue to do everything possible to ensure the preservation and full implementation of the #Irandeal by all
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) September 20, 2020
Meanwhile, Iran once again said that it did not breach the deal a sit always shared the details of the stockpile of enriched uranium with the U.N. and also invited U.N. representatives for site inspection.
The Foreign Minister of Iran – Javad Zarif has said that U.S. is isolated from the permanent members of the U.N.S.C. on its stand of re-imposing sanctions under snapback mechanism. The Head of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of Iranian armed forces – Major General Hossein Salami has warned U.S. that it is capable of setting fire to all U.S. bases in the Gulf at once.
The Secretary General of the U.N. – António Guterres opines that the legal uncertainty surrounding the U.S. claim meant it was not possible to declare that U.N. sanctions had been reimposed.
