US President Donald Trump’s administration said late Saturday all United Nations sanctions on Iran have been restored including a conventional arms embargo on the country, which was expected to expire in mid-October.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Saturday he cannot take any action on a US declaration due to the “uncertainties” surrounding the issue.
“There would appear to be uncertainty whether or not the process ... was indeed initiated and concomitantly whether or not the (sanctions) terminations ... continue in effect,” Guterres wrote in a letter to the council, seen by Reuters.
“It is not for the Secretary-General to proceed as if no such uncertainty exists,” he said.
UN officials offer administrative and technical support to the Security Council to implement its sanctions regimes including the appointing of independent experts to monitor the implementation process.
In the case of Iran, Guterres said that “pending clarification” of the status of the sanctions, he would not take any action to provide that support.
13 out of the 15 Security Council members say Washington’s move is void because Pompeo used the Snapback mechanism agreed under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which the United States withdrew in 2018.
