By Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan (ex-Diplomat, Editor, Analyst)
Strange! In defiance of the international practices and norms, the United States is slapping new sanctions on Iran after the Trump administration unilaterally announced the restoration of all United Nations penalties and sanctions that were relieved under the 2015 nuclear deal.
The U.S. is alone this time again, as no other country has supported the U.S. decision. Even its close allies in Europe are rejecting the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran. The U.S. unilaterally ceased participation in the JCPOA by presidential Memorandum on 8 May 2018, and has subsequently not a party in any JCPOA-related activities. Logically it cannot, therefore, be considered to be a JCPOA participant State and cannot reinstate U.N. sanctions under the U.N. Security Council resolution 2231.
The U.S. decision for reimposing sanctions is illegal and against the will of the international community. It has been observed that since President Trump came into power, the U.S. is facing visible Isolation in the international community. On many occasions, the U.S. faced a humiliating defeat at UNSC, like in the case of shifting the capital of Israel from Telavive to Jerusalem, etc.
Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres said that the United Nations would not agree on reimposing sanctions on Iran as the United States is asking, until he gets green light from the Security Council. Where all other countries are opposing such an action initiated by the U.S. There is no single country in support of US-resolution. It seems President Trump is in full-confrontation mode and has intended to spoil the U.N. General Assembly sessions’s environment. In a bid to win elections to be held on November this year, President Trump has determined to be re-elected at any cost, whatsoever will be the price he is willing to pay. The U.N. may be heading toward deadlock and more confrontation.
The U.N. chief said in a letter to the council president that “there would appear to be uncertainty” on whether or not U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo triggered the “snapback” mechanism in the Security Council resolution that enshrined the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers.
Traditionally, the U.S. was known for democracy and often referred to as a perfect role model for the rest of the world, but the upcoming elections seem the worst in history. Allegation on contestants, blaming others, and damaging the stability of the country are the phenomena never seen before. The social unrest or a kind of civil war is ongoing in the U.S.; some of the states observed almost no rit of the Government at all. Pandemic proved a big disaster, wrong approach, and defective policies had damaged the U.S. a lot. Elections might become more challenging if the same trend kept on continuing.
The spokesman of the Chinese foreign ministry said, “We have been reiterating China’s position on how the Iranian nuclear issue may be approached at the Security Council. As a matter of fact, principally, the U.S. is no longer a relevant-party to the JCPOA, after widrewing from the deal. Its letter to the Security Council on August 20 has no legal validity, nor does the U.S. have any right to demand that the Security Council invoke a snapback.”
The Security Council President turned down the U.S. request, and the Security Council has not taken any action on triggering the snapback because of its legality. Therefore, the Security Council, pursuant to Resolution 2231, will continue with its ways with regards to the sanctions on Iran. Over the past weekend, parties to the JCPOA, including China, Russia, France, the U.K., and Germany, sent letters respectively to the Security Council President to make clear their opposition to the U.S. unilateral announcement on restoring sanctions. The European Union also put out a statement. All these reflect the shared position and consensus of the international community. The U.S. approach was rejected b globally, and masses around the world have expressed their anger and dissatisfaction. The U.S. is losing its face and image around the Globe.
The U.S. wanted everything according to its own wishes and believes itself above the law. It is not only violating international law but also threatening to use illegal unilateral sanctions to coerce other countries, such practices should be comdemned. This outrageous and unreasonable approach has been widely frowned upon and opposed by the international community. At the same time, the rest of the world wanted that the U.S. should abide by the U.N. charter and should not violate international norms and practices. Whole world wanted the UN’s supremacy. Writ of law and justice based equality.
Iran has been following the JCPOA strictly, and there was no case of any violation. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has independently verified that there is no evidence of a breach of agreement from Iran. All other signatories of JCPOA are also satisfied with Iran. It is only the U.S. taking a unilateral stance on Iran, on advice from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natnyahu, which is illegal, illogical, and irrational. It will tense the geopolitics further, and pushing the world toward crisis.
Author: Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan, Sinologist (ex-Diplomat), Editor, Analyst, Non-Resident Fellow of CCG (Center for China and Globalization), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan.
(The views expressed in this article belong only to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy or views of World Geostrategic Insights).