TEHRAN – Presidential chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi has said the United States suffered a historic, unprecedented defeat at the UN Security Council when it tried to extend a UN arms embargo on Iran.

“The Americans and international commentators believe that the Trump administration, in trying to extend the Iran arms embargo, faced a humiliating defeat which is unprecedented in the history of the U.S.,” Vaezi said in a televised interview on Saturday night.

“After that, they once again resorted to something which they are not even a member of,” Vaezi said, pointing to Washington’s bid to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran under the 2015 nuclear accord, which the U.S. withdrew from in May 2018.

He pointed out that China, Russian, and the three European countries known as E3 have already rejected Washington’s argument that it can trigger the “snapback” mechanism.

After that the members of the UN Security Council wrote letters one by one to reject the move, the official added.

The remarks came after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo officially informed the UN Security Council it is demanding the restoration of all UN sanctions on Iran, insisting that the U.S. has the legal right to “snap back” UN sanctions even though Donald Trump pulled out of the UNSC-endorsed nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers.

According to Reuters, 13 countries out of the 15-member UN Security Council have expressed their opposition to the move, arguing that Washington’s move is void given it is using a process under a nuclear deal that it quit more than two years ago.

Those countries include France, Britain, and Germany, which are the strongest U.S. allies in Europe.

“Mr. Trump has made numerous mistakes in different spheres since he assumed office, one of which is the way he communicates with and treats his allies,” Vaezi said.

He added that Trump’s approval rating is very low because of his mismanagement of the United States’ affairs.

According to Vaezi, Trump is lagging badly behind against his rival, Joe Biden, in polls and he is seeking to conduct populist measures.

MH/PA