TEHRAN — Washington is reportedly planning to submit a complaint to the UN Security Council over allegations of Iran’s non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, even though the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the historic pact in May 2018.

U.S. diplomats and a UN official said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is likely to travel to New York on Thursday to seek a return of all UN sanctions on Iran and meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Reuters reported.

Pompeo is likely to meet with Indonesia’s UN Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, the Security Council president for August, to submit the complaint, diplomats said. 

On Friday, the UN Security Council almost unanimously refused to back a U.S.-drafted resolution on extending the UN’s arms embargo against Iran, which is due to expire in October under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

During the 15-member Security Council vote, the U.S. resolution received support only from the Dominican Republic, leaving it far short of the minimum nine yes votes needed.

Russia and China voted against the resolution. The other members, including France and Britain as permanent members of the council, and Germany refused to vote in favor of the U.S. resolution. 

After Washington’s humiliating failure at the Security Council, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he intends to trigger the snapback mechanism, which would reimpose international sanctions against Iran at the United Nations.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday that the U.S. “killed” the JCPOA, “buried” it and held a “funeral” for it, but even the corpse of the nuclear pact defeated the United States.

The chief Iranian diplomat argued that the Americans thought they could secure 9 votes, which would prompt Russia and China to veto the resolution, but it didn’t even needed those countries using their veto power.

According to Zarif, the fact that Russia and China voted against the resolution demonstrated the two countries’ insistence on their stance.

MH/PA