Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech on Sunday that the US is facing defeat in its recent sanctions decision against the Islamic Republic.
“America is approaching a certain defeat in its sanctions move […]. It faced defeat and negative response from the international community. We will never yield to US pressure and Iran will give a crushing response to America's bullying”, Rouhani underscored.
Additionally, he signalled Iran’s readiness to fully adhere to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), if all other signatories do so.
The remarks came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that he cannot take any action on the US declaring the reinstatement of all UN sanctions against Iran due to what he described as uncertainty related to the issue.
“There would appear to be uncertainty whether or not the process […] was indeed initiated and concomitantly whether or not the [sanctions] terminations […] continue in effect. It is not for the Secretary-General to proceed as if no such uncertainty exists”, Guterres pointed out, according to his letter to the UN Security Council, seen by Reuters.
The statement followed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announcing that all the UN sanctions against Iran are coming into force and that Washington is ready to punish those UN Security Council members that are against the sanctions.
Pompeo welcomed "the return of virtually all previously terminated UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran" under the so-called snapback mechanism of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. The mechanism stipulates punitive measures if Iran violates its obligations under the JCPOA.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, for his part, called on the US “to return to the international community, act in accordance with your obligations and stop the rebellion” so that the international community can “accept” Washington.
The US re-imposed tough sanctions on Iran as part of President Donald Trump’s campaign of so-called maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic, which began after Washington unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 in a move that prodded Iran to start suspending its JCPOA obligations exactly a year later.
