US reimposes sanctions on Iran

The US announced on Saturday night that UN sanctions are being reimposed on Iran. The snapback of sanctions was triggered 30 days ago, following the Security Council’s vote not to extend the arms embargo on the Islamic Republic. It was not immediately clear if other members of the Security Council would comply with the new sanctions.

Russia and China opposed the American move to extend the arms embargo, and the UK, France and Germany raised objections as well.

The sanctions were suspended following the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.

“The Trump Administration has always understood that the greatest threat to peace in the Middle East comes from the Islamic Republic of Iran, whose violent efforts to spread revolution have killed thousands and upended the lives of millions of innocent people,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Saturday night.

“History shows appeasement only emboldens such regimes. Thus today, the United States welcomes the return of virtually all previously terminated UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror and antisemitism.”

Pompeo added in his statement that the US expects all UN Member States “to fully comply with their obligations to implement these measures.”

He noted that in addition to the arms embargo, this includes restrictions such as the ban on Iran engaging in enrichment and reprocessing-related activities, the prohibition of ballistic-missile testing and development, and sanctions on the transfer of nuclear- and missile-related technologies to Iran, among other measures.

“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’s statement reads.