The refusal of the UN Security Council to satisfy the US request for the restoration of anti-Iranian sanctions indicated to Washington the legal and procedural nullity of the initiative put forward. This is stated in the commentary of the Russian Foreign Ministry circulated on August 26.
“A few days earlier, the President of the Security Council received clear official signals from many members of the Security Council <...>. The American side was clearly pointed out to the legal and procedural nullity of its actions, which have nothing to do with the task of maintaining international peace and security and, therefore, cannot lead to a “restart” of the long-canceled resolutions, ”the ministry said.
Thus, the US initiative has neither perspective nor legal implications. In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry believes that Washington’s position meets with neither understanding nor support in the UN Security Council.
“Left essentially alone, the United States continues to reiterate its own ‘leadership’. It is obvious that the path they have chosen to ignore the realities only leads to an aggravation of the situation, ”added the Foreign Ministry.
On the eve of Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said that most members of the Security Council of the organization did not support the US attempt to restore sanctions against Iran.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that the United States is doing everything it can to avoid being bound by any multilateral obligations, as evidenced by Washington’s stance on extraterritorial sanctions.
UNSC sanctions against Iran were lifted following the signing of the Joint Action Plan (JCPOA) in 2015 and Tehran’s abandonment of its nuclear program.
Three years later, the American side withdrew from the treaty, restored some sanctions against Iran and introduced new ones, and the President of the Islamic Republic, Hassan Rouhani, announced that Tehran was suspending part of its obligations under the nuclear deal.