TEHRAN — Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has advised the U.S. president to change tack before his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo turns the Trump administration into a global laughing stock.

“The world says NO Security Council sanctions were restored,” Zarif wrote in a tweet on Sunday. “But Mr. ‘We lied, We cheated, We stole’ threatens to punish a world that refuses to live in his parallel universe.”

“@realDonaldTrump should change tack before @SecPompeo further turns #MAGA into a global laughing stock,” he added.

MAGA is an abbreviation for “Make America Great Again”.
 
In another tweet, Zarif attached a photo of Pompeo’s tweet in which the secretary of state said, “We will not hesitate to enforce our sanctions, and we expect all @UN Member States to fully comply with their obligations under these re-imposed restrictions.”

Zarif wrote, “The issue with mythomaniacs— who just can't help themselves in their pathological lying—is that they actually get lost in their own web of deceit.” 

He was referring to Pompeo’s use of the words “our sanctions” to refer to the UN sanctions against Iran.

On September 19, Pompeo announced the return of “all previously terminated UN sanctions” on Iran, a move that drew criticism from all parties to the JCPOA including Washington’s European allies.

“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.

All other parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action have strongly rejected the U.S. move as void. 

The three European signatories to the JCPOA said the U.S. announcement was “incapable of having legal effect.” 

Russia, a staunch proponent of the JCPOA, said, “UN Security Council Resolution 2231 remains unchanged and the commitments arising from it must be fulfilled in the initially agreed mode and volume on the basis of the reciprocity principle by all states.”

China, another staunch proponent of the deal, expressed opposition to the U.S. unilateral announcement, saying, “It is illegitimate for the United States to demand the Security Council invoke the snapback mechanism.”

MH/PA