It is common belief that US cannot cannot trigger sanctions snapback against Iran: China

The Chinese ambassador to Tehran has stressed the US ineligibility to trigger the so-called snapback provision in the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at re-imposing UN sanctions against Iran, describing the fact as a “common belief.”

“It is the common belief that US cannot initiate the process of reinstating UN sanctions under #UNSCR2231,” Chang Hua said in a post on his twitter account on Wednesday, referring to the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which enshrined the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

On August 22, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo filed an official complaint with UNSC President Dian Triansyah Djani, accusing Iran of violating the JCPOA – from which US President Donald Trump withdrew two years ago.

He claimed that Washington is still a participant in the JCPOA and therefore retains the right to activate a 30-day countdown to a return of all UN sanctions that had been imposed on Tehran before the nuclear agreement.

However, the remaining signatories to the JCPOA maintained that since the United States left the accord in May 2018, it has no right to act under its provisions. 

In a meeting of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA, which took place in Vienna on Tuesday, all participants reaffirmed in a statement the importance of preserving the agreement, emphasizing that the US cannot invoke the “snapback” mechanism.

JCPOA Joint Commission: All parties determined to preserve Iran deal despite US pressure

The remaining signatories to the JCPOA say they will do everything possible to preserve the landmark accord amid US efforts to restore UN sanctions against Iran.

“In light of recent discussions in the UN Security Council in New York concerning the issue of the attempted reinstatement of previously lifted UN sanctions, the participants reaffirmed that the United States unilaterally announced its cessation of participation in the JCPOA on 8 May 2018 and that it had not participated in any JCPOA-related activities subsequently,” read the statement.

“Participants reconfirmed that it therefore could not be considered as a participant State. In this regard, participants also reaffirmed their various statements and communications made previously at the UN Security Council including that of the High Representative of 20 August as the Coordinator of the JCPOA to the effect that the US cannot initiate the process of reinstating UN sanctions under UNSC resolution 2231.”

The Trump administration’s push to restore UN sanctions against Iran came days after it suffered an embarrassing loss at the Security Council on August 14. Russia and China voted against the resolution proposed by Washington to extend an Iranian arms embargo and the remaining 11 council members, including France, Germany and the UK, abstained.

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