Iranian President Hassan Rowhani, on Wednesday said the U.S. do not have the right to implement its sanctions on Iran as part of the “snapback” mechanism linked to the Vienna nuclear deal.
“Common sense tells us that this mechanism is only valid for those who are part of the treaty and not those who are not part of it anymore,” Rowhani said.
According to diplomatic sources, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, could head to the UN in New York on Thursday to start a process of restoring sanctions on Iran.
According to UNSC sources, Pompeo may seek to use an in-person meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC), a rare occurrence during the coronavirus pandemi, to trigger the `snapback` mechanism.
Rowhani, however, added that it was a very wise decision of Iran to have stayed in the nuclear deal signed by Tehran and six world powers in Vienna in 2015.
“If we too had left after the U.S., we will now have the trouble and costs of new UN resolutions,” Rowhani said.
He also thanked the countries in the UNSC that had voted against the U.S. proposal to extend an arms embargo against Iran.
The snapback mechanism was envisioned in the event Iran was found to be non-compliant with the nuclear deal, which was intended to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting crippling economic sanctions.
Meanwhile, most countries on the Security Council doubt the legality of Washington invoking the `snapback`since President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Vienna deal in 2018.
