U.N.: No Iran sanctions now

Trump administration had claimed they had been restored

UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-general Antonio Guterres says the United Nations will not support reimposing sanctions on Iran, as the United States is demanding, until he gets a green light from the Security Council.

The U.N. chief said in a letter to the council president that “there would appear to be uncertainty” on whether U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo triggered the “snapback” mechanism in the Security Council resolution that enshrined the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers.

The Trump administration declared Saturday that all U.N. sanctions against Iran have been restored, a move most of the rest of the world rejects as illegal and is likely to ignore. The U.S. announcement is certain to cause controversy during the U.N.’S annual high-level meetings of the General Assembly starting Monday, which is being held mainly virtually this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. announcement came 30 days after Pompeo notified the council that the administration was triggering “snapback” because Iran was in “significant non-performance” with its obligations under the accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

But the overwhelming majority of members in the 15-nation council call the U.S. action illegal because President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the plan in 2018.

They point to Security Council

Resolution 2231, which endorsed the nuclear agreement. It states that “a JCPOA participant state” can trigger the “snapback” mechanism. The U.S. insists that as an original participant it has the legal right, even though it ceased participating.

Guterres noted that “the Security Council has taken no action subsequent to the receipt of the letter of the U.S. secretary of state, neither have any of its members or its president.”

He said the majority of council members have written to the council president “to the effect that the letter did not constitute a notification” that “snapback” was triggered. And he said the presidents of the council for August and September “have indicated that they were not in a position to take any action in regard to this matter.”