US President Donald Trump said he had ordered Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to notify the UN Security Council of Washington’s intention to re-activate international sanctions on Iran, known as the "Snapback" mechanism.
At a press conference held last night at the White House, Trump predicted that he would win the elections and that Tehran would rush to him to seek a new agreement.
"In the first month that follows my victory in the elections, Iran will come and ask us to reach an agreement very quickly, because their condition is not well," he said.
The "Snapback" mechanism stipulated in the nuclear agreement concluded with Iran in 2015 allows for the re-imposition of all UN sanctions on Iran if a state party to the agreement requests this, on the grounds that Tehran has violated the obligations stipulated in the agreement.
Other members of the UN Security Council doubt the possibility of the United States resorting to such a step because Washington withdrew from the agreement in May 2018 by a decision from Trump himself.
Shortly after Trump's statement, the US State Department announced that Pompeo would travel to New York on Thursday and Friday to notify the Security Council. Pompeo threatened that his country would impose sanctions on any country that opposes its efforts to re-apply international sanctions on Iran.
In response to a question in an interview on "Fox News" about the expected behavior of the United States towards both Russia and China if they oppose the return of sanctions on Iran, Pompeo said that "sanctions will be imposed on all violators of international sanctions."
Trump renewed his harsh criticism of the agreement concluded during the era of his Democratic predecessor, describing it as a "catastrophic" and a "failure of foreign policy" pursued by Barack Obama and his deputy, Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate for the presidential elections scheduled for November 3.
According to the Trump administration, the lifting of sanctions on Iran in 2015 enabled the Islamic Republic to obtain tens of billions of dollars, which it used to spread "chaos, blood and terror" in the Middle East and the whole world.
Washington received a strong blow in the UN Security Council last week when only one country, the Dominican Republic, voted on a US draft resolution to extend the arms embargo imposed on Iran, in a result that revealed the depth of differences between the United States and its European allies since Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal.
Shedding penalties
Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the UAE-based "Parthia Cargo" and Delta Barts, for their support of the Iranian "Mahan Airlines" company.
The two companies provide essential spare parts and logistical services to the Iranian airline.
The ministry added that the services of the two companies support what it described as the "destabilizing agenda of the Iranian regime," through activities that include "transporting terrorists and lethal cargo to Syria to support the Bashar al-Assad regime."
Under the authority to combat terrorism, the United States imposed sanctions in 2011 on Mahan Airlines, accusing it of providing material support to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and its Quds Force.