Donald Trump vows to push through 'snapback' sanctions on Iran

Finbar Anderson
·2 min read
Any unilateral move by the US could cause a diplomatic crisis among the UN Security Council - Sarah Silbiger /Reuters
Any unilateral move by the US could cause a diplomatic crisis among the UN Security Council - Sarah Silbiger /Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump said that he intended to push through a “snapback” of sanctions on Iran, a day after the UN Security Council rejected a U.S. effort to extend a UN arms embargo on Tehran.

“We’ll be doing a snapback,” Trump said during a news conference at his New Jersey golf club on Saturday.

“You’ll be watching it next week.”

The U.S. president was apparently referring to the contentious argument that the U.S. remains a “participant” in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal - despite having withdrawn from it in 2018 - and can therefore unilaterally force a return to sanctions if Washington considers that Iran has violated the terms of the deal.

The nuclear deal, which was signed in July 2015, has been under massive pressure since the U.S. withdrawal, although major signatories including the UK, France and Germany remain committed.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the lost vote at the Security Council a "humiliation" for the US - Brendan McDermid /Reuters
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the lost vote at the Security Council a "humiliation" for the US - Brendan McDermid /Reuters

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani called the defeat of the embargo effort a “humiliation” for the U.S. in a televised speech on Saturday. Of the Security Council member states, only the U.S. and the Dominican Republic voted in favour. Russia and China opposed the extension to the embargo, which is due to expire in October, while eleven other members, including the UK, abstained.

European allies have expressed scepticism over whether Washington is still in a position to enforce sanctions, having left the deal. Such a U.S. move could trigger a diplomatic crisis in the Security Council.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed an online summit with the U.S., Britain, France, China, Germany and Iran to avoid “confrontation and escalation” at the UN When asked if he would participate in the summit Trump responded, “Probably not.”