The United States punishes Nicolás Maduro for acquiring weapons from the Tehran regime

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at a recent press conference.FLORIAN WIESER / EFE

In a new assault with sanctions against the ayatollah regime, Washington has taken the opportunity to include in the punishment that it considers the illegitimate government of Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro, accusing the leadership of Chavismo of acquiring weapons from the Islamic Republic, according to a statement made public this Monday by the State Department.

"No matter who you are, if you violate the embargo on Iran, you will face sanctions," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned at a press conference.

"The United States has reinstated the UN sanctions against Iran," Trump said.

For the Republican administration, this is "a clear message to the Iranian regime and to all those in the international community who refuse to stand up to Iran."

In the words of the president, the US will not allow the Iranian regime to advance further in its actions to threaten and terrorize the rest of the world.

"My administration will use all the tools at our disposal to stop Iran's strategy to equip itself with nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and conventional weapons."

The new sanctions issued are promulgated against the Iranian Ministry of Defense, against 27 entities and individuals related to the Iranian nuclear program and against Maduro, considering that he violated the arms embargo on the Islamic Republic, “by having participated or tried to participate in activities that materially contribute to the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer to or from Iran, or for the use in Iran or for the benefit of Iran, of arms or related material, including spare parts ”.

I hope Europeans will come to understand that if you really want to lead, if you really want to be part of a global coalition to reduce risk in the Middle East, then you need to join us.

We need these sanctions to snap back.

pic.twitter.com/sGQlLJMdOg

- Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) September 21, 2020

Despite the fact that Pompeo assures that the sanctions are produced under the United Nations, it is questioned whether the decision has the necessary legal basis.

As if this were not enough, the measure has the opposition of the rest of the powers of the Security Council.

Without going any further, last Sunday, France, Germany and the United Kingdom contested Washington's unilateral decision to reinstate all international sanctions against Iran and stressed that, in their opinion, the sanctions remain without effect because Washington abandoned the pact in 2018. that was signed with Tehran in 2015 in Vienna, accepting the partial lifting of sanctions against Tehran in exchange for the commitment not to develop nuclear weapons.

For 12 of the 15 countries that make up the Security Council, Washington does not have the right to impose this measure now, having abandoned the agreement.

However, Pompeo has gone ahead and assured that "if any member of the UN fails to comply with its obligations in relation to sanctions, the United States will be prepared to use its authority."

Incessant pressure

Pompeo announced a few days ago that the United States would shortly step forward to apply additional measures to strengthen the implementation of these sanctions.

In addition to the arms embargo, which ends on October 18, the sanctions include restrictions such as a ban on Iran from engaging in activities related to uranium enrichment, a ban on developing ballistic missiles, and sanctions related to the transfer of nuclear or nuclear technology. missiles.

"Our pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will continue until Tehran reaches a comprehensive agreement with us on non-proliferation and stops spreading chaos and violence," said the head of the North American country's diplomacy.

Although the US sanctions against the Iranian regime are not new, this is the first time that the White House has issued sanctions against the leadership of Chavismo for its agreement with Tehran after this year's rapprochement between the two regimes.

The United States has also been trying to remove Maduro from power, whose second term, which began in 2019, considers the result of fraudulent elections.

For his part, Maduro has increasingly sought cooperation with Iran in the oil sector.

The State Department said that the sanctions on Maduro in Trump's executive order based on the UN resolution target defense transactions between Iran and the Venezuelan leader.

"For almost two years, corrupt officials in Tehran have worked with the illegitimate regime in Venezuela to circumvent the UN arms embargo," Pompeo concluded.