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Trump wants to force the reinstatement of all UN sanctions

2020-08-19T22:37:13.477Z


It is highly controversial whether the US can force the "snap back" of all sanctions against Iran before the UN Security Council. The Trump administration is trying to do that anyway - and could plunge international diplomacy into a crisis.


It is highly controversial whether the US can force the "snap back" of all sanctions against Iran before the UN Security Council. The Trump administration is trying to do that anyway - and could plunge international diplomacy into a crisis.

Washington (dpa) - In the struggle over the fate of the nuclear deal with Iran, the US wants to force the reinstatement of all UN sanctions from times before the deal.

He had instructed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to trigger the so-called snapback mechanism in the UN Security Council, US President Donald Trump said in Washington. "My administration will not allow this nuclear situation in Iran to continue. They will never have an atomic bomb," Trump said.

It is highly controversial whether the United States is entitled to initiate the sanctions because the Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018. The most powerful UN body is now facing an acid test. Reinstating all UN sanctions against Iran would mean the de facto end of the nuclear deal.

The snapback mechanism (German: to snap back) is a possibility for the states of the nuclear agreement of 2015 to denounce Iranian rule violations before the UN Security Council. This means that all international sanctions from the time before the agreement can be reinstated within 30 days - without other members being able to prevent this with a veto.

The Americans are of the opinion that for the snapback it is sufficient to mention the USA in the UN resolution, which translates the nuclear agreement into international law. Most of the countries in the Security Council and also the EU see it differently. An American proposal for an extension of the arms embargo on Iran, which was thrown down on Friday by only two out of 15 votes in favor, showed that the US is largely isolated on the issue in the Security Council.

The diplomatic dispute in the most powerful UN body could lead to a split in the Security Council over the question of whether the old sanctions against Iran will apply again or not. Western diplomats announced that many states could effectively ignore a snapback triggered by the US. This in turn could lead to upheavals between Germany, France and Great Britain on the one hand and the USA on the other. At least one diplomat emphasized that, at least in theory, the International Court of Justice in The Hague could also be referred in the matter.

The procedure laid down in the nuclear agreement for the case of the snapback states that the UN Security Council has a period of 30 days after the mechanism has been triggered to reverse the triggering and prevent the sanctions from "snapping back" - this in turn could be from a Veto power like the USA can be prevented. Experts suspect that there will be little movement in the Council until mid-September, after the 30 days are over and the snapback should be completed from the US perspective. What the US will do in this case initially remained unclear.

The UN veto powers USA, China, Russia, France and Great Britain as well as Germany and Iran agreed in 2015 in Vienna on the agreement that allows Tehran the peaceful use of nuclear power but denies the development of nuclear weapons. It put the Iranian nuclear industry under control and promised to dismantle Western economic sanctions. Trump has been against the nuclear deal for years - the snapback should suit him well for his campaign of maximum pressure on Tehran ahead of the US presidential election in November.

The impetus for the now worsening dispute was the arms embargo for Iran, which expired in October as part of the agreement, which the USA wanted to extend indefinitely, but which clearly failed with its draft resolution. Germany, France and Great Britain do not want China and Russia, for example, to be able to conclude legal arms agreements with Iran in the future. But the Europeans also have an interest in keeping the nuclear deal alive - Tehran is threatening to withdraw if the embargo is extended.

Europeans say they have been trying to negotiate a compromise since the beginning of the year. From diplomatic circles it was reported that attempts had been made to convince Washington to "concentrate on particularly offensive types of weapons, possibilities of an agreement beyond a UN resolution". But the USA, like Russia and China, have shown no willingness to make concessions. The hope among many diplomats in New York is that a new US president may be elected in November who will reshuffle the cards in the crisis.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200820-99-233134 / 2

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-08-19

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