U.n. pAnel rejectS u.S. demAnd to “SnAp bAck” irAn SAnctionS

The president of UN I T ED NAT I ONS» the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration’s demand to restore all U.N. sanctions on Iran, a move that drew an angry rebuke from the U.S. ambassador who accused opponents of supporting “terrorists.”

Indonesia’s ambassador to the U.N., Dian Triansyah Djani, whose country currently holds the rotating council presidency, made the announcement in response to requests from Russia and China to disclose results of his polling of the views of all 15 council members on the U.S. action.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted last Thursday that the United States has the legal right to “snap back” U.N. sanctions, even though President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers that was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council.

All the council members, except the Dominican Republic, had informed the council president that the U.S. administration’s action was illegal because Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2018.

Djani told members at the end of a virtual meeting on the Mideast on Tuesday that there was no general agreement among council members.

The U.S. Mission to the U.N. later issued a statement saying the U.S. “is on firm legal ground to initiate the restoration of sanctions” under the Security Council resolution that endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal.