The rotating president of the Security Council rejected the US plan to extend sanctions on Iran.

The rotating president of the Security Council rejected the US plan to renew sanctions against Iran, citing opposition from 13 member states. The US had called for the activation of the “trigger mechanism” after failing to extend the arms embargo on Iran.

Thirteen European Union member states, including France, Britain, and Germany, sent a letter to Dian Dijani, Indonesia's ambassador to the United Nations, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council, opposing the US plan to activate the "trigger mechanism."

Today, Wednesday, August 26, the French news agency (AFP) published a report from New York on the video conference of the current president of the Security Council and published the words of the Indonesian ambassador to the United Nations, Dian Dijani, regarding the United States' plan to activate the "trigger mechanism".

The Indonesian ambassador to the United Nations announced in this video conference that, given the lack of agreement among the members of the Security Council, he cannot agree to the US demand to renew international sanctions against Iran.

Thirteen member states of the UN Security Council had previously sent a letter to the rotating president of the council, stating that, given the US's withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran, the country is not in a position to resort to the solutions foreseen in the agreement.

Request for renewal of international sanctions

The US's aim in activating the "trigger mechanism" is actually related to its desire to extend the arms embargo on Iran. The United States had called for the extension of the arms embargo on Iran and considered the end of these sanctions a threat to stability and peace in the region and the world.

Iran arms embargoes are set to expire in October of this year, after a five-year period. The United States believes that the end of these sanctions will allow the Iranian government to buy and sell weapons.

In this regard, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a Twitter post, mentioned the possibility of selling Iranian-made weapons to Venezuela.

"It is no surprise that the illegitimate Maduro regime would turn to Iran for deadly weapons," Pompeo wrote. "This is precisely what is prompting the United States to call for the extension of all UN sanctions, including the arms embargo, on Iran."

The US Secretary of State has emphasized that the United States will use all its power to enforce these sanctions.

Contrary to the opinion of the majority of Security Council members, the United States believes that it is legally permitted to use the "trigger mechanism" against Iran; first, because the Islamic Republic has not adhered to the commitments and obligations foreseen in the nuclear agreement, and second, because the United States was one of the countries participating in the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Mike Pompeo personally attended the UN Security Council meeting last Thursday, August 20, and officially announced his desire to activate the “trigger mechanism.” Following the opposition of the Security Council members, with the exception of the Dominican Republic, Pompeo accused these countries of “supporting the ayatollahs.”

Renewing international UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic will effectively mean extending the country's arms embargo.

Source: DW