US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced at dawn on Sunday that the United Nations sanctions against Iran "have entered into force again," warning of "consequences" if other countries fail to implement these sanctions, after European countries confirmed their rejection of the move.
"If the member states of the United Nations fail to fulfill their duties to implement these sanctions, the United States is prepared to use its internal powers to impose consequences for these failures and to ensure that Iran does not reap the benefits of the UN ban on this action," Pompeo said.
Pompeo made clear that activating the return to the original state clause re-imposes almost all sanctions on Iran, including those previously canceled by the United Nations, including the arms embargo.
Pompeo added that thanks to the re-imposition of sanctions, Iran is now obligated to stop uranium enrichment and heavy water-related activities, stressing that his country will announce new measures in the coming days to strengthen the imposition of sanctions and hold their violators accountable.
Earlier, Britain, France and Germany confirmed in a letter to the Security Council their rejection of the US move, noting that any decision or measure to re-impose UN sanctions on Iran would have no legal effect.
The three countries affirmed that they would continue to abide by the nuclear agreement with Tehran and work to preserve it.
On the other hand, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in statements to Iranian state television that the US move to restore international sanctions on Iran is only a propaganda part of President Donald Trump's election campaign, and has no real impact.
Zarif added that Washington had failed to re-impose UN sanctions, and ruled out that secondary sanctions would affect Tehran's purchase of weapons from China and Russia.
He also said, "The Americans are acting like thugs and imposing sanctions ... The international community must decide how to face this bullying."
In turn, the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami, said that any American aggression against Iran would be faced by striking all American bases in the region on a large scale.
He added that his country is capable of targeting America's interests in the region, occupying all its bases and inflicting heavy losses on the ranks of the American army, stressing that Iran's defensive strength is designed to confront any aggression by the United States and its allied countries.