In this photo taken from a pre-recorded video streamed online and provided by Ministry of Environment Government of Japan, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during the Online Platform Ministerial Meeting, Sept 3, 2020. (MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN VIA AP)

NEW YORK / TEHRAN - The US has no authority to demand a snap-back in sanctions against Iran after quitting the 2015 nuclear deal two years ago, the French Foreign Ministry said in a joint statement with Germany and the UK on Sunday.

“We have worked tirelessly to preserve the nuclear agreement and remain committed to do so,” the three countries’ foreign ministers said in the statement.

Since quitting the nuclear accord in May 2018, the Trump administration has intensified efforts to pressure the Islamic Republic, ratcheting up sanctions. But the US moves have united partners like the UK, France and Germany with Russia and China, who have sought to salvage the accord. 

Since quitting the nuclear accord in May 2018, the Trump administration has intensified efforts to pressure the Islamic Republic, ratcheting up sanctions

That has left the US isolated on the UN Security Council, with most nations saying America has no authority to demand the return of international sanctions since it’s no longer a party to the agreement.

The US says that the broader Security Council resolution that enshrined the accord doesn’t require it to still be in the agreement, and that all of the United Nations resolutions on Iran that were in place before the accord -- from a ban on arm deals to restrictions on the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile activity and its nuclear enrichment -- should have gone back into effect on Saturday.

The US expects all UN member states to comply with their obligations to implement sanctions, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a statement late Saturday.

However, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Saturday he cannot take any action on a US declaration that all UN sanctions on Iran had been reimposed because “there would appear to be uncertainty” on the issue.

Pompeo said last month that he triggered a 30-day process at the council leading to the return of UN sanctions on Iran on Saturday evening that would also stop a conventional arms embargo on Tehran from expiring on Oct 18.

But 13 of the 15 Security Council members say Washington’s move is void because Pompeo used a mechanism agreed under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which the United States quit in 2018.

“There would appear to be uncertainty whether or not the process ... was indeed initiated and concomitantly whether or not the (sanctions) terminations ... continue in effect,” Guterres wrote in a letter to the council, seen by Reuters.

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“It is not for the Secretary-General to proceed as if no such uncertainty exists,” he said.

There would appear to be uncertainty whether or not the process ... was indeed initiated and concomitantly whether or not the (sanctions) terminations ... continue in effect. 

Antonio Guterres UN Secretary-General  

UN officials provide administrative and technical support to the Security Council to implement its sanctions regimes and Guterres appoints independent experts to monitor implementation. He said that “pending clarification” of the status of the Iran sanctions, he would not take any action to provide that support.

Diplomats say few countries are likely to reimpose the measures lifted under the 2015 deal that aimed to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Russia’s Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy responded on Twitter, “We all clearly said in August that US claims to trigger snapback are illegitimate. Is Washington deaf?”

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Iran’s UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi said on Twitter on Saturday, “US illegal and false ‘deadline’ has come and gone ... Swimming against international currents will only bring it more isolation.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Saturday that the United States will not be able to restore pre-2015 sanctions against Iran in its unilateral attempt in the UN Security Council.

The United States lost its authority pertaining to any action in the Iranian 2015 nuclear deal when it withdrew from the accord in 2018 unilaterally, Zarif said in a televised speech.

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The US officials themselves are well aware that their attempt is "void," but they are resorting to "bullying" policies in international relations, he said.