TEHRAN – Kamal Kharrazi, the head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, has said the U.S. is well aware that Iran never compromises on its rights.

Kharrazi, who was responding to claims by the U.S. on returning of UN sanctions, including an arms embargo, on Iran, said, “This claim by the U.S. is so groundless and meaningless that even the close allies of the U.S. consider it illegal because with the exit of the U.S. from the JCPOA they do not consider any right for that regime in using the snapback mechanism of the JCPOA or Resolution 2231.”

Kharrazi said the U.S., which turned its back on international institutions by adopting unilateralist policies and now seeks to impose its “unreasonable” policies on other countries through bullying, doesn’t need to resort to UN Security Council resolutions, as it is intending now to block Iran’s arms deals by threatening others with secondary sanctions.

Responding to a question on Iran’s possible response to the U.S. measure, Kharrazi said, “Under Article 51 of the UN charter, which is about the inherent right to defend oneself, Iran is authorized to immediately and decisively respond to any aggressive action by the U.S. under the pretext of restoring the terminated resolutions based on Resolution 2231. They know that Iran will never compromise on its rights and it has proven this in practice.”

Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have been on the rise since U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo submitted a “notification” to the UN Security Council calling for the restoration of all UN sanctions on Iran within 30 days. On September 19, Pompeo announced the return of UN sanctions as the U.S. deadline ended.

“Today, the United States welcomes the return of virtually all previously terminated UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran…. Sanctions are being re-imposed on Iran pursuant to the snapback process under UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 2231,” Pompeo said in a statement.

He also said that the U.S. expects “all UN Member States to fully comply with” with the sanctions he announced their return in a highly contested move. The secretary of state threatened to impose sanctions on any country violating the UN restrictions.

“If UN Member States fail to fulfill their obligations to implement these sanctions, the United States is prepared to use our domestic authorities to impose consequences for those failures and ensure that Iran does not reap the benefits of UN-prohibited activity,” Pompeo warned.

 Kharrazi said the U.S., which turned its back on international institutions by adopting unilateralist policies and now seeks to impose its “unreasonable” policies on other countries through bullying, doesn’t need to resort to UN Security Council resolutions, as it is intending now to block Iran’s arms deals by threatening others with secondary sanctions.

He also said that the U.S. expects “all UN Member States to fully comply with” with the sanctions he announced their return in a highly contested move. The secretary of state threatened to impose sanctions on any country violating the UN restrictions.

“If UN Member States fail to fulfill their obligations to implement these sanctions, the United States is prepared to use our domestic authorities to impose consequences for those failures and ensure that Iran does not reap the benefits of UN-prohibited activity,” Pompeo warned.