US ‘Snapback’ Sanctions Illegal
“Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart; they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria” Hosea 7:11
US insists ‘snapback’ sanctions against Iran are in force, but most of the world says that’s illegal
By Carol Morello Washington Post September 21, 2020
Iran’s currency nosedived to an all-time low Sunday as the United States claimed it was ready to enforce all international sanctions against the country, while most of the world brushed off the US move and acted as if nothing had changed.
The US declaration that all sanctions against Iran are back in place as of Saturday night ushers in a new period of uncertainty and tension. The United States is almost alone in asserting it has the authority to reimpose the multilateral sanctions because it was an original participant in the 2015 nuclear agreement. Only a handful of countries agree.
It remains unclear how the administration will go about unilaterally enforcing the “snapback” of multilateral sanctions. Most countries say Washington stopped being a participant in the landmark deal with Iran when President Trump withdrew from it two years ago and began reimposing US sanctions.
Traditional US allies in Europe have pledged to actively ignore what the United States is trying to do, fearing that the Trump administration is looking for a way to kill the agreement with Iran it has been railing against for years. That could prompt Iran to kick out the international experts who have been given access to monitor its nuclear facilities.
The foreign ministers of France, Britain and Germany, which helped negotiate the deal, underscored their rejection of the US position in a joint statement Sunday, saying the United States gave up its right to have a say in UN sanctions. Josep Borrell, the foreign policy chief of the European Union, pleaded for the agreement to be preserved and urged all parties “to refrain from any action that could be perceived as an escalation in the current situation.”
Joel Huan
The Mystery of Ephraim 