TEHRAN – Iranian presidential chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi said in a tweet on Friday that since the popularity of Donald Trump, who is facing reelection in November, has been declining over the last months, he has resorted to threats against Iran as a way out of the current dilemma.

In another tweet on Friday, Vaezi said, “The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has not learned from the recent humiliating defeat and threatens other member states of the [UN] Security Council by baseless legal reasoning and despite firm position adopted by China, Russia, and the European countries against triggering snapback mechanism.”

Vaezi noted in another tweet that the era of practicing unilateralism has ended. 

“The era of unilateralism has ended and the international community will not bow to the United States’ force and threats. This action of them will face defeat,” he wrote.

On Thursday, the U.S. sent a letter to the UN Security Council requesting to initiate the “snapback” mechanism, which allows a participant to the JCPOA to seek reimposition against Iran of UN sanctions lifted under the nuclear deal.

The U.S. took the move following its failure last week at the UN Security Council in its attempt to extend arms embargo on Iran which will expire in October in accordance with Resolution 2231.

On Wednesday, Pompeo threatened to punish those countries that oppose its effort to re-impose sanctions on Iran.

In a joint statement on Thursday the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, whose countries are signatory to the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPO), issued a joint statement saying they cannot support the United States’ action in triggering the snapback mechanism because the U.S. is no longer a participant to the JCPOA.

“France, Germany and the United Kingdom (‘the E3’) note that the U.S. ceased to be a participant to the JCPoA following their withdrawal from the deal on 8 May, 2018.  Our position regarding the effectiveness of the U.S. notification pursuant to resolution 2231 has consequently been very clearly expressed to the Presidency and all UNSC members. We cannot therefore support this action which is incompatible with our current efforts to support the JCPoA,” said the statement published by the UK Foreign Ministry’s website. 

The Chinese mission to the United Nations said in a tweet on Friday that the United States is not a participant to the nuclear deal and therefore it is “ineligible” to invoke the snapback mechanism to return all the UN sanctions on Iran.

NA/PA