The US aims to activate a "snapback" mechanism in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that would restore international sanctions on Iran. The move escalates a dispute between the US and other members of the UN security council.
The United States demands the United Nations Security Council to activate the "snapback" mechanism of the JCPOA to reimpose all sanctions against Iran, while other parties to the deal believe that the US is not allowed to resort to this mechanism because it is not a party to the JCPOA anymore since the country left it in May 2018.
Donald Trump is doing his best to activate the mechanism just a couple of days after his failure in the UNSC to extend Iran's arms embargo.
To know more about the issue we reached out to Dr. Osman Faruk Logoglu, senior member of Turkey's CHP and veteran politician.
Here is the text of the interview with him:
How do you assess the US move to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran by activating snapback mechanism of the JCPOA, despite unanimous opposition from other UNSC members and considering the fact that the US has already left the JCPOA ?
It was clear from the start that the US lacked both the legal basis for calling the snapback Iran’s sanctions or the support it needed to have it pass. Why then did the US push the matter for a second time? There might be at least three motives: One is to build a case against the UN with which the Trump administration has never been happy, a case to justify an eventual US challenge to the UN system. A second motive is to better argue for the continuation of bilateral US sanctions. Finally, it might be part of a more general attempt by the US to go it alone in trying to isolate Iran in the Middle East, thinking - mistakenly – that the UAE-Israel deal was a great success with more to follow.
Can such unilateral moves weaken the UNSC role in maintaining peace in the world?
I do not believe the US move affects – however, limited that might be – the efficacy of the UNSC. We witness time and again that any of the permanent 5 can veto action by the UNSC. I think the Trump administration wants to sell to the American public the UN is no good and does not serve American interests. President Trump might be thinking that taking on the UN might help him in the November elections.
Many thinkers like Richard Hoss believe that President Trump’s foreign policy has isolated the US. What do you think of this?
I agree with Richard Hass. But it is not just foreign policy, but the overall domestic and international demeanor of the Trump administration that has undercut America’s so-called “exceptionalism”. The American system is undergoing a severe challenge under President Trump. The Trump administration is on bad terms with the UN, NATO, EU, UNESCO, WHO, and many countries individually, including Germany. Trump’s foreign policy is based on Israel and Israeli interests. That basis is not enough for a sound, comprehensive foreign policy. "
Interview by Payman Yazdani
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