The snapback provisions
The snapback sanctions are built into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Wikipedia notes: The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program reached in Vienna on July 14, 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany)[a] together with the European Union.”
Any member of the P5 plus 1 can invoke the snapback sanctions should Iran violate the agreement. The US however withdrew from the deal in 2018 and has not meet its obligation under the deal since. As a result, most other countries do not consider the US a party to the agreement any longer. Hence, the US cannot invoke snapback provisions.
The UN ambassador to Indonesia, Dian Triansyah Djani, who holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council said during a Council meeting: “It is clear to me that there is one member which has a particular position on the issues, while there are significant numbers of members who have contesting views In my view there is no consensus in the council. Thus, the president is not in the position to take further action.“
The US position
The US holds that even though it has left the JCPOA it was a signatory to the agreement and thus has a right to invoke the snapbacks since it claims Iran has violated the agreement. The fact that others oppose this interpretation has no effect the US claims on the legality of the US imposing the snapback sanctions. The US vows that it will enforce the sanctions whether they pass the UN or not. The US will use its global power to threaten countries who refuse to enforce the US sanctions. The US continues policies against Iran that do not have international support and isolate the US internationally rather than Iran.
Mike Pompeo travelled to New York last week to formally notify the UN that the US was initiating the process to reinstate all the US sanctions on Iran that were lifted under the JCPOA deal. Pompeo’s move could be considered the US plan B after the UN Security Council had roundly defeated a US resolution to extend the arms embargo on Iran that is to expire in mid-October. Only the Democratic Republic and the US supported the motion.
