Britain, France and Germany informed the UN Security Council that Iran's exemption from UN sanctions will continue after September 20, when the United States confirms that all sanctions should be re-imposed.
In a message to the UN Security Council, the European parties that signed the nuclear deal with Iran said that any decision or measure to re-impose UN sanctions "will have no legal effect."
The UN sanctions on Iran were lifted under the nuclear agreement it signed with international powers in 2015, but the United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
The envoys of Britain, France and Germany to the United Nations said, "We have worked tirelessly to preserve the nuclear deal, and we remain committed to that."
They added that they are still committed to "fully implementing" the 2015 Security Council resolution that supported the agreement, which also includes Russia and China.
And US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month that he had activated a 30-day measure in the Security Council that would lead to the re-imposition of UN sanctions on Iran starting next Saturday.
Under this measure, the ban on the export of conventional weapons to Tehran, which was scheduled to be lifted on October 18, will also continue.
But 13 of the 15 Security Council members say that Washington's action is invalid, as it is no longer a party to the nuclear deal.
The United States says it is entitled to take that action, because the 2015 Security Council resolution still includes it as a participating party.
Pompeo: We will prevent Iran from obtaining Chinese and Russian weapons (Reuters)
An American pledged
and last Tuesday, Pompeo pledged that Washington would prevent Iran from purchasing Chinese and Russian military equipment, even as European allies disagree with Washington's position.
"We will act in this manner," Pompeo said, "We will prevent Iran from acquiring Chinese tanks and Russian air defense systems, and then sell weapons to Hezbollah," adding, "We will do everything necessary to ensure that these sanctions are applied and respected."
In conjunction with its efforts to re-impose sanctions on Iran, the United States announced that its aircraft carrier and naval battleships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz and reached the Gulf waters on Friday.
Washington regularly sends aircraft carrier groups to the Gulf to train and support operations of the United States and the anti-Islamic State coalition in Syria and Iraq, but the Trump administration has sought to escalate pressure on Tehran.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has intensified its nuclear development activities since the United States unilaterally withdrew from this agreement in 2018.