President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would alert the United Nations' Security Council about the United States' decision to reimpose sanctions against Iran.
"Today, I am directing the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to notify the UN Security Council that the United States intends to restore virtually all of the previously suspended United Nations sanctions on Iran," Trump said during his press conference. "It's a snapback. Not uncommon."
"Two years ago I withdrew the United States from the disastrous Iran Nuclear Deal, which was a product of the Obama-Biden foreign policy failure, a failure like few people have seen in terms of the amount of money we've paid for absolutely nothing in a short-term deal," the president explained. "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 that the president had the authority to do, but gave $1.8 billion in cash. Just another great deal that turned out to be a total disaster."
According to Trump, Iran funneled money to various terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East.
"Today, I am directing the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to notify the UN Security Council that the United States intends to restore virtually all of the previously suspended United Nations sanctions on Iran." pic.twitter.com/REA8WKMLod
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 19, 2020
State Department Spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Pompeo will travel to New York City to alert the UN Security Council about the imposed sanctions. The UN sanctions will be restored 30 days after Pompeo notifies the UNSC, including the requirement that Iran suspend all enrichment-related activities. This will also extend the 13-year arms embargo on Iran.
From Bloomberg:
Under the unique “snapback” process outlined in the 2015 nuclear deal, once the U.S. submits its complaint, the council has 30 days to vote on a resolution to continue Iran’s sanctions relief, a move the U.S. could then proceed to veto. If such a resolution is not adopted, UN sanctions that were eased in return for constraints on Iran’s nuclear program would be snapped back into place, effectively killing the Iran nuclear deal.