On Friday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington is preparing to prevent Russia and China from making any attempt to "violate the sanctions" imposed on Iran, a day after Washington moved to re-impose UN sanctions on Tehran.

In an interview with FOX NEWS, Pompeo said that Washington is disappointed that its European allies have not supported its efforts in seeking to "reimpose" UN sanctions, after what President Donald Trump's administration described as a violation by Tehran of the agreement. Nuclear dealer concluded in 2015 with world powers.

In the same context, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft - told a German newspaper - that the behavior of her European allies in this issue is "disappointing."

"This is very disappointing, this matter is so important that we cannot wait until the deadline for the arms embargo ends on October 18," the German daily Züddeutsche Zeitung quoted Kraft as saying in an interview.

"We cannot wait until the world realizes next October that Russia and China can provide weapons, and Iran can buy them and deliver them to militias and terrorist groups that move them around the world," she added.

The re-imposition of United Nations sanctions on Iran means obligating it to suspend all nuclear activities related to uranium enrichment, including research and development, and prohibiting the import of any materials that may contribute to those activities. It also means preventing Tehran from developing ballistic weapons capable of carrying nuclear weapons, and re-establishing specific sanctions on Dozens of individuals and entities.

The US effort to return sanctions

On Thursday, the United States officially called on the United Nations to activate measures to re-impose international sanctions on Iran within a month.

In an official letter, Pompeo informed the United Nations Security Council of what he called "clear violations of Iran's obligations" contained in the agreement signed in Vienna in 2015, to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

The letter called for activating the mechanism called "return to the previous situation", which is commonly called "Snapback" mechanism, and re-imposing sanctions on Iran.

The administration of US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 from the nuclear deal aimed at preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, saying that its restrictions on Iran's atomic activities were insufficient.

Pompeo said in his message to the Security Council that Iran had violated many central boundaries in the agreement, without acknowledging that most of Iran's "violations" occurred only after Washington's withdrawal from it.

The letter stated that "Iranian non-compliance is indisputable and declared," citing Iran's enrichment of uranium above the 3.67% level, its storage of enriched uranium greater than the 300-kilogram ceiling set in the agreement, and other violations.

Iranian, Russian, Chinese refusal

Iran rejected the US move, saying that Washington had no right to return sanctions, and called on Security Council members to reject the US move.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said - in a message to the United Nations before the US move - that Washington has no right to restore the mechanism for imposing all sanctions because it is no longer a party to the nuclear deal.

"The US endeavor to re-impose UN sanctions on Iran will have grave consequences ... And now is the role of the international community to confront the illegal US endeavor."

The Russian ambassador to the United Nations rejected the United States' plans to re-impose sanctions, and said that such a step is only right for a country that is a member of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

For its part, the Chinese mission at the United Nations believed that the United States is a "non-participating country" in the agreement, and that Pompeo's message "cannot" be considered as an activation of the mechanism for returning to the previous situation.

European position

Britain, France and Germany also issued an official statement, saying that they could not support the US initiative that "conflicts" with efforts to preserve the nuclear deal.

The statement said, "The United States will no longer participate in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action after its withdrawal from the agreement" on May 8, 2018.

The three countries added that they could not "support this initiative, which conflicts with our current efforts to support the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," meaning the nuclear agreement, stressing that they want to "protect" the agreement.

"We are convinced that the issue of the Iranians’ continued lack of respect for their obligations stipulated in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action must be addressed within the framework of a dialogue between the participants in the agreement, "the statement added.

The three countries stressed that they "urge Iran to reconsider all its actions that contradict its nuclear obligations, and to return without delay to fully respecting them."

Israeli blessing

Pompeo accused those countries of "failing to lead," and said their actions would "endanger" people living in the Middle East and their citizens as well.

"No country but the United States has had the courage and conviction to present a draft resolution, but they (the Europeans) instead chose to align themselves with the ayatollahs," he said.

In contrast to the European position, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the United States' move to re-impose United Nations sanctions on Iran, and called on world powers to support Washington.

"I commend the United States for its decision to activate the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran. This is the right decision," Netanyahu said in a statement.

"Responsible countries should support the United States in its quest for a real solution, a solution that prevents Iran from building nuclear weapons," he added.