New US sanctions are illegal: most of world
Iran’s currency nosedived to an all-time low yesterday as the United States said it was ready to enforce all international sanctions against the country, while most of the world brushed off the US move and acted as if nothing had changed.
The US declaration that all sanctions against Iran are back in place as of Sunday ushers in a new period of uncertainty and tension. The United States is almost alone in asserting that it has the authority to reimpose the multilateral sanctions, citing its participation in the 2015 nuclear agreement. Several countries agree.
It remains unclear how the administration will go about unilaterally enforcing the ‘‘snapback’’ of multilateral sanctions. Most countries say Washington stopped being a participant in the landmark deal with Iran when President Donald Trump withdrew from it two years ago and began reimposing US sanctions.
Traditional US allies in Europe have pledged to actively ignore what the United States is trying to do, fearing that the Trump administration is looking for a way to kill the agreement with Iran it has been railing against for years. That could prompt Iran to kick out the international experts who have been given access to monitor its nuclear facilities.
The foreign ministers of France, Britain and Germany, which helped negotiate the deal, underscored their rejection of the US position in a joint statement yesterday, saying the United States gave up its right to have a say in UN sanctions. Josep Borrell, the foreign policy chief of the European Union, pleaded for the agreement to be preserved and urged all parties ‘‘to refrain from any action that could be perceived as an escalation in the current situation.’’
Trump is expected to issue an executive order today specifying how Washington will enforce punishment for violators. The State and Treasury departments will spell out penalties for businesses and individuals.
No one disputes that Iran has been violating some of the rules it agreed to. It was fulfilling them until the United States began reimposing US sanctions in 2018. In response, Iran has gradually exceeded limits for enriched uranium and heavy water.
Iran’s infractions were the justification used by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month when he notified the UN Security Council that the administration was triggering snapback sanctions under a clause in the agreement it is no longer a party to.
Pompeo, in a statement released on
Sunday as the sanctions were declared in effect, said he expects all countries in the UN to comply. He took a harsher tone yesterday, calling the agreement negotiated by the Obama administration ‘‘nuts, absolutely nuts’’ and accusing European countries of not having ‘‘lifted a finger’’ to stop an arms embargo against Iran from expiring. But he expressed hope that European allies would ‘‘get on board’’ by backing the US stance on confronting Iran over nuclear enrichment and arms sales.
‘‘They know we’re right,’’ Pompeo said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures, adding that the Europeans acknowledge privately that they do not want Iran to resume arms sales but have not done anything to prevent it. ‘‘I hope they’ll join us. I hope they’ll get to the right place. They’re still wedded to this silly nuclear deal that was signed now five years ago.’’