WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The United States would invoke snapback sanctions against Iran, after its attempt to extend arms embargo against Iran failed, senior U.S. officials said Friday.

The UN Security Council on Friday failed to adopt a resolution that would extend the current arms embargo against Iran. The draft resolution, tabled by the United States, did not get the required nine votes in favor for adoption.

Besides the United States, only the Dominican Republic voted in favor of the draft. China and Russia voted against the text, and the remaining 11 Security Council members, including the European allies of the United States, abstained.

"It's disappointing, but not surprising," President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said in an interview with Fox News.

"We have other tools in our toolkit," he said. "We're going to take some severe measures up at the UN, and I think you can expect snapback sanctions to come into play."

"Snapback" refers to restoring all pre-2015 U.N. sanctions against Iran.

U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN Kelly Craft also said in a Friday statement that "the United States has every right to initiate snapback of provisions of previous Security Council resolutions."

"In the coming days, the United States will follow through on that promise, and we will stop at nothing to extend the arms embargo," she added.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said the same day that the United States is no longer a participant of the Iran nuclear deal and therefore ineligible to demand the Security Council invoke a snapback.

The overwhelming majority of the Security Council members believe that the U.S. attempt has no legal basis. Should the United States have its way in disregard of international opinion, its attempt is doomed to fail again, he said.

Foreign ministers of Britain, France, and Germany also noted in June that they would not support any unilateral attempt to trigger UN sanctions snapback.

Under Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the six powers of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, the arms embargo against Iran expires on Oct. 18, 2020. Tehran said it would not accept a renewal of the embargo. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)