Iran this Sunday mocked the "
maximum isolation
" of the United States after their unilateral proclamation of a return to UN sanctions against Tehran, an American approach rejected by Moscow and the European countries parties to the agreement on Iranian nuclear power.
Read the dossier: Iran-United States: all you need to know about the crisis in the Middle East
The United States proclaimed overnight from Saturday to Sunday that United Nations sanctions against Iran were back in force, even though it is almost the only one in the world to believe they are.
These sanctions were lifted under the international agreement reached in Vienna in 2015 intended to limit Iran's nuclear program.
"
Today, the United States welcomes the return of almost all UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran
" since Sunday midnight GMT, announced US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“
The whole world says nothing happened.
It just happened in the imaginary world
”of Mike Pompeo, reacted Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a press conference Sunday.
"
Maximum isolation
"
For Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the policy of “
maximum pressure
” pursued by Donald Trump's administration on Iran has turned into “
maximum isolation
” of the United States.
The Americans' gesture of defiance to the rest of the world risks increasing international tensions as the US government threatens to implement a system of so-called secondary sanctions to punish any country or entity that violates these sanctions.
Mike Pompeo promised that American "
measures
" would be announced against "
those who violate UN sanctions
", even though the American sanctions are not those of the UN which, for their part, have been lifted.
Six weeks before the presidential election where he is seeking a second term, Donald Trump could unveil these measures during his speech Tuesday at the UN General Assembly.
Read also: Against Iran, Washington tries to force its way into the UN
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded on Sunday on Twitter accusing Mike Pompeo of "
threatening to punish a world that refuses to live in the parallel universe
" of Americans, saying "
the (rest of the) world had said NO
”to the return of sanctions.
The other great powers, Russia, China but also the European allies of the Americans, are contesting the American decision.
The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced an “
illegitimate
”
American initiative
that could not have “
international legal consequences
”.
The heads of the French, German and British diplomacy affirmed in a joint declaration that the initiative was "
without effect in law
".
The Iranian Foreign Ministry warned in a statement that "
if the United States implements its threats, directly or through the cooperation of some of its allies (...), it will be responsible for all the dangerous consequences
".
"
Snapback
"
To understand this face-to-face between the world's leading power and the rest of the planet, we have to go back a month.
The Trump administration suffered a resounding setback in the Security Council in mid-August in its attempt to extend the embargo on conventional arms against Tehran which expires in October.
Accusing in an attack of rare violence Paris, London and Berlin of having "
chosen to align with the ayatollahs
" in power in Iran, Mike Pompeo triggers on August 20 the procedure of "
snapback
", supposed to restore a month more later all the UN sanctions against Iran.
Donald Trump, deeming the Iranian nuclear deal negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama insufficient, withdrew from the pact in May 2018 and immediately reinstated US sanctions against Tehran.
A year later, Iran began to break away from certain commitments made under the agreement.
Read also: Nuclear: Tehran resists the American trap
In a legal pirouette, the United States is now invoking its status as a country "
participating
" in this agreement to activate the "
snapback
", which is contested by almost all other members of the Security Council.
In view of their withdrawal from the agreement, the United States "
cannot initiate a return of sanctions
", said Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy.
"
Nothing will happen,
" assures a diplomat at the UN.
“
It's like when you pull the trigger and the ball doesn't go.
"
In the streets of Tehran this Sunday, Iranians deplored the already difficult economic conditions in the country. “
Whether the sanctions are reimposed or not, we live in extreme difficulty
,” said Leila Zanganeh, martial arts teacher. Danial Namei, architect, believes that the situation cannot get worse: “
We are going through an already difficult period. There is nothing worse than the worst after all
”.
