Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The UN Security Council blocked the US initiative to use the so-called mechanism for returning sanctions (snap back) against Iran, envisaged in Security Council Resolution 2231 on the nuclear deal - Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The JCPOA was signed by Iran and six countries (USA, Russia, China, Great Britain, France and Germany) in 2015 and legally enshrined in UN Security Council Resolution 2231 in order to limit the nuclear program in exchange for lifting the imposed international sanctions. In May 2018, the United States announced its withdrawal from the agreement and the restoration of American sanctions against Iran.

Resolution 2231 contains the so-called mechanism for returning sanctions (snap back).

In the event of violations of the Agreement, the participating country can start this process, after which this resolution will become invalid and the previous sanctions introduced before the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran will come into effect. These include freezing accounts, banking restrictions, a ban on the supply of weapons to the country, etc.

The United States hoped to use snap back to restore international anti-Iranian sanctions in force before the nuclear deal, and thereby completely destroy the JCPOA. European countries, as well as Russia and China, are trying to maintain the agreement.

Indonesia, the presidency of the UN Security Council, refused to take any procedural steps based on the American request due to the lack of consensus among the members of the Security Council on the legality of Washington’s use of the snap back procedure. The Security Council members believe that the United States has no right to make a decision on Iran’s compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal, since they themselves withdrew from it back in 2018.

However, the United States claims that the country retained the status of a participant in the transaction, since is still listed in UN Security Council Resolution 2231 among the JCPOA member states.

At the same time, experts, commenting on the refusal of the UN Security Council to launch the snap back mechanism at the request of the United States, note that the supporters of the nuclear deal with Iran have so far managed to save it. But Washington can use procedural tricks to achieve its goals: a) the United States has the opportunity to submit to the Security Council a draft resolution stating that the Iranian nuclear deal is still in force. And then make an unprecedented move by vetoing your own resolution; b) Washington will wait 30 days from the date of their request to launch the sanctions restoration mechanism, and then declare that the sanctions have entered into force again.

In general, interaction on the Iranian nuclear program has created deep disagreements between the United States and its allies, but, despite everything, Washington continues its policy of its collapse. In this context, the implementation of such plans by Washington, in addition to negative consequences for Iran, is fraught with irreparable damage to the authority of the UN Security Council as a key body for resolving international conflicts.