WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration is set to announce on Monday new sanctions on people and entities involved in Iran’s nuclear, missile and conventional arms programs, to support its assertion that all U.N. sanctions against Tehran are now resumed, a move key allies such as the Europeans dispute.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT at the State Department along with National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and several top cabinet members.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross as well as U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Kelly Craft will be joining Pompeo at the news conference which the agency said will be about ‘on Iran Snapback Sanctions.”
The United States says it has triggered a “snap back,” or resumption, of virtually all U.N. sanctions on Iran, including the arms embargo, to come into effect at 8 p.m. on Saturday (0000 GMT Sunday).
Reuters reported on Sunday that Washington will sanction more than two dozen people and entities. A major part of the new U.S. push is an executive order targeting those who buy or sell Iran conventional arms that was previously reported by Reuters and will also be unveiled by the Trump administration on Monday.
Under the 2015 nuclear deal, which the United States had unilaterally pulled out of in 2018, the U.N. conventional arms embargo is set to expire on Oct. 18.
Other parties to the nuclear deal and most U.N. Security Council members have said they do not believe the United States has the right to reimpose the U.N. sanctions and that the U.S. move has no legal effect.
On Friday, Britain, France and Germany told the Security Council that U.N. sanctions relief for Iran – agreed under the 2015 nuclear deal – would continue beyond Sunday, despite Washington’s assertion.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
