The United States on Thursday has notified UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres of its decision to activate a 'snapback' that will restore all UN sanctions on Iran, Reuters reported.
Washington said it will never allow "the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism" to freely buy and sell any kind of conventional weapons.
Secretary of State Michael Pompeo visited the UN headquarters on Thursday and met Guterres as well as the president of the UN Security Council for the month of August, Indonesian Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani.
Pompeo delivered letters notifying UN officials that Washington was initiating the restoration of virtually all UN sanctions on Iran lifted under the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
Under this, the sanctions will come back into effect in 30 days from August 20.
"Our message is very, very simple. The United States will never allow the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism to freely buy and sell planes, tanks, missiles, and other kinds of conventional weapons. These UN sanctions will continue the arms embargo," Pompeo told reporters at the UN.
He added that the "restored sanctions will also reimpose accountability for other forms of Iranian malign activity that the authors of the nuclear deal foolishly downplayed. Iran will be again prohibited from ballistic missile testing. Iran will be back under sanctions for ongoing nuclear activities – such as the enrichment of nuclear material – that could be applied to a nuclear weapons program".
Last week, the UN Security Council rejected a proposal by Washington to indefinitely extend an arms embargo on Iran.
Washington had threatened that it would initiate a "snapback" to reimpose all UN sanctions on Iran.
