US BID TO RESTORE UN SANCTIONS VS IRAN TO BE IGNORED

In defiance of overwhelming opposition, the United States is preparing to declare that all international sanctions against Iran have been restored. Few countries believe the move is legal, and such action could provoke a credibility crisis at the United Nations, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Virtually alone in the world, the Trump administration will announce on Saturday that UN sanctions on Iran eased under the 2015 nuclear deal are back in force. But the other members of the UN Security Council, including US allies, disagree and have vowed to ignore the step. That sets the stage for ugly confrontations as the world body prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary at a coronavirus-restricted General Assembly session next week. But opposition to the US move is widespread and strong, including from 13 of the other 14 Security Council members. "Under international law, you can't withdraw from an agreement and then claim you can still benefit from its provisions. Under a 'rules-based’ order where the rules are defined by the US this seems to be OK provided it serves US interests," Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky tweeted

The question is how the Trump administration will respond to being ignored. It already has slapped extensive sanctions on Iran, but could impose penalties on countries that don't enforce the UN sanctions it claims to have reimposed. A wholesale rejection of the US position could push the Trump administration, which has already withdrawn from multiple UN agencies, organizations and treaties, further away from the international community and become a global pariah, Mainichi Shimbun also reported.

In the midst of a heated campaign for reelection, President Donald Trump plans to address Iran in a speech to the General Assembly on Tuesday. Officials say he will also touch on his brokering of agreements for Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to normalize relations in part to solidify a regional bulwark against Iran. And, as he seeks to demonstrate statesmanlike credentials ahead of the election, Trump has injected another element of uncertainty into the mix by threatening to retaliate "1,000 times" harder against Iran if it attacks US personnel overseas. Trump himself talked of such a plot, but no one believes him.

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