The White House’s decision comes after the United Nations Security Council failed to accept the US request for an extension on the Iranian arms embargo; Such a decision reveals that the ‘maximum pressure’ campaign remains alive and well.
Following last week’s decision by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to reject the US request for an extension on the Iranian arms embargo, the Trump administration has announced its intentions of implementing what’s called the ‘snapback.’ The snapback procedure was included in the installation of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran Nuclear Deal, and allows for all previous UN sanctions on Iran to be implemented if one of the JCPOA members feels that Iran is violating the agreement.
Trump announced, “Today I am directing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to notify the U.N. Security Council that the United States intends to restore virtually all the previously suspended United Nations sanctions on Iran. It’s a snapback.” Such a move further reveals how committed the president is to combating the radical regime of Iran and the ayatollahs.
The President has been a long-standing critic of the Iran Nuclear Deal, which did nothing but further enable Iran’s regime of terror. Further criticizing the deal, he stated, “This deal funneled tens of billions of dollars to Iran, $150 billion to be exact plus $1.8 billion in cash, which I don’t know the president had the authority to give….just another great deal that turned out to be a total disaster that would have funded all the chaos and bloodshed in the region and the world.”
One of the two representatives to reject the US request for an extension on the embargo was China, whose ambassador argued that this decision by the White House is not legitimate because the US had formally withdrawn from the deal. However, senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Richard Goldberg, adequately responded saying, “Other countries may challenge that fact for their own political agendas but unless they’re willing to blow up the Security Council, the United States as a permanent member has the procedural power to force the snapback through.”
Regardless, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited the UN on Thursday to inform the secretary-general of the US plans.