Pompeo argues US still in Iran deal in bid to snap back global sanctions
Can the United States use the UN to force other countries to sanction Iran?
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is publicly arguing that the United States is still a participant in the Iran nuclear deal despite President Donald Trump’s stated withdrawal from the accord in 2018.
Trump and his aides have repeatedly characterized the reimposition of bruising US sanctions on Iran as a “withdrawal” from the accord. But by asserting that the United States is still a party to the accord, the Trump administration hopes to use the UN Security Council resolution that formalized the 2015 deal to snap back multilateral sanctions against Iran.
“UN Security Council Resolution 2231 is unambiguous where the United States is a participant,” Pompeo said at a press conference Wednesday. “It’s just there in the language. There’s nothing magic about this.”
Pompeo added that “the rights that accrue to participants in the UN Security Council resolution are fully available to all those participants,” indicating that the United States may seek to use the resolution to force other countries to reinstate sanctions against Iran.
