TEHRAN - Seyed Nasser Mousavi Laregani, a member of the Parliament’s presiding board, said on Sunday that the U.S. efforts to trigger a return of all UN sanctions on Iran hit a dead end.

“The U.S. failed to trigger the snapback mechanism because it failed to bring members of the [UN] Security Council on board. And of course, it goes without saying that Trump's plan for such measures is aimed at serving propaganda purposes in order to gain” votes ahead of the presidential election, Laregani told the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency (ICANA).

He added, “By pursuing the snapback mechanism, Trump is working his butt off to impose what he calls ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran and portray this pressure as an achievement that can be used in his election campaign.”

According to Laregani, the U.S. efforts to trigger the snapback process go against international law because it has withdrawn from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and that it cannot trigger the snapback process through the deal’s Joint Commission.

“The JCPOA Joint Commission holds a meeting when the complaining party is committed to its obligations. The U.S. cannot participate in the Joint Commission because it has withdrawn from the JCPOA,” the MP argued.

He added the U.S. resorted to every ploy to gain the support of the European countries but it was snubbed.

“In a bid to trigger the snapback mechanism, the U.S. sought to bring European counties on board through various ploys, but it got nowhere. These countries clearly opposed the issue [of snapback],” the MP noted.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to New York on August 20 to notify the UN Security Council of a “significant non-performance” by Iran of its obligations under the nuclear deal as stipulated in the UN Security Council Resolution 2231. However, the complaint faced firm opposition from all remaining JCPOA parties, with thirteen of the 15-member Security Council questioning the legal authority of the U.S. to trigger the snapback process.

SM/PA