Iran says US has 'no respect for international laws', terms sanctions 'illegal'

On September 20, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations asked the United States to ‘respect international laws’ while addressing the press outside the UN's headquarters in New York. Accusing the Trump administration of falsely claiming the restoration of the sanctions against Iran, Majid Takht Ravanchi said that the United States "has no respect for international law and order.” Furthermore, he took to his official Twitter handle and accused the United Staes of being “in violation” of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), adding, that the US’ “false and illegal deadline has come and gone”. Ravanchi, further asserted, that the UNSC member states continue to maintain the US wasn’t the JCPOA signatory, so, therefore, its claim of “snapback" was null and void.

Further, in an address to the press outside the UN headquarters in New York, Ravanchi maintained that the United States had to stop the "economic war" against Iranians, indicating Donald Trump’s reimposition of hard-hitting sanctions after Trump pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2015. US President further slapped the secondary sanctions on countries that continued to trade with Iran, threatening trade embargo. Ravanchi also accused the US of its circumvention of the multilateral accord and unilateral arms sanctions, saying, the US drifted away from performing duties and respecting the international community.

This comes as the UK, France, and Germany dispatched a letter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), urging the United Nations sanctions relief for Iran amid US President’s threats of “severe consequences” against the world firms conducting operations. At least 13 countries on the 15-member UN Security Council argued the US  trade embargo on Iran as void. 

Earlier, US President Trump announced that the US had reinstated the sanctions on Iran due to the Islamic Republic’s “recent aggressive acts”, which, he added, will also restrict Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his office from accessing the international financial system and would, sources of the New York Times confirmed. Further, as per the statement of the US Treasury Department, Trump imposed sanctions on eight Iranian military commanders in a retaliatory strike after Iran shot down a US spy drone with a surface-to-air missile last week.

 

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In a release issued by the Office of Trump's Press Secretary, the Trump administration said, “These sanctions will deny Iran's leadership access to financial resources, blocking them from using the United States financial system or accessing any assets in the United States,” an  ANI agency report confirmed, citing the document.

It added, "These sanctions build on President Trump's efforts to put financial pressure on and raise costs for the Iranian regime. The President has implemented tough sanctions against Iran and will continue to impose maximum pressure until the regime abandons its malign behaviour,” the statement read. 

No interest in the 'dangerous' region

Shortly after the announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a statement that the US claim of having reinstated the Iran sanctions was “completely false”. He added that the US military "has no business" in the Gulf other than the agenda of war than diplomacy. Trump said that the US had limited strategic interest in the "dangerous" region. In a tweet, Trump said, "Why are we protecting the shipping lanes for other countries (many years) for zero compensation. All of these countries should be protecting their own ships on what has always been a dangerous journey. We don't even need to be there.”

Read: Iran Warns US It Will Respond To New Sanctions

Read: UN Chief: No UN Support For Reimposing Iran Sanctions Now

(With ANI Inputs)