Pompeo: Iran sanctions will snap back at midnight on Sep. 20

Pompeo speaks to reporters following a meeting with members of the UN Security Council about Iran's alleged non-compliance with a nuclear deal in New York. (File/AFP)

• On Friday, 13 council members expressed their opposition to the US bid to trigger a return of UN sanctions on Iran
• Members argued that Washington’s move is void

LONDON: Sanctions on Iran will snap back at midnight GMT on Sep. 20, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday.
“The US triggered the 30-day process to restore virtually all UN sanctions on Iran after the Security Council failed to uphold its mission to maintain international peace and security. These sanctions will snap back at midnight GMT on September 20,” Pompeo tweeted.
His tweet comes after 13 council members expressed their opposition to the US bid to trigger a return of all UN sanctions on Iran on Friday.
They argued that Washington’s move is void given it is using a process agreed under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that it quit two years ago.

However, the US argues that it can trigger the process — known as snapback — because a 2015 Security Council resolution that sets out the nuclear deal still names it as a participant.
The process to restore sanctions is a reaction to the Security Council rejecting the US’s Aug. 14 bid to extend an arms embargo on Iran beyond its expiration in October.
Pompeo on Thursday completed a trip of the Middle East that sought to build on an American-brokered deal to have Israel and the United Arab Emirates normalize relations. 
The US Secretary of State discussed countering Iranian regional influence with his Emirati counterpart during a brief visit to the UAE as part of his tour.