Zarif: US to be lost in its own ‘web of deceit’

Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif reacted to the US claim that referred to Security Council’s sanctions as "our" sanctions, saying that Washington’s government will be lost in its own “web of deceit.”

In a series of tweets on Sunday, Zarif wrote, “The issue with mythomaniacs— who just can't help themselves in their pathological lying—is that they actually get lost in their own web of deceit.”

He further mentioned a tweet by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in which he had referred to UN sanctions as “our” sanctions. Zarif called Pompeo's tweet as “Exhibit A:"

https://twitter.com/jzarif/status/1307684478937165826?s=12

He further tweeted, “The world says NO Security Council sanctions were restored. But Mr. "We lied, We cheated, We stole" threatens to punish a world that refuses to live in his parallel universe. @realDonaldTrump should change tack before @SecPompeo further turns #MAGA into a global laughing stock.”

The US president claimed the so-called "snapback" of the sanctions was in effect and threatened to "impose consequences" on any UN member state that fails to comply.

The sanctions in question were lifted in 2015 when Iran and six world powers – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US – reached a landmark nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

But Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, saying the deal – negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama – was insufficient. He also renewed and even strengthened Washington's own sanctions.

After US unilateral declaration that UN sanctions are back in force against Iran met negative international reactions, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, “America’s maximum pressure… not only has failed, but has led to its maximum isolation.”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council he cannot take any action on a US declaration that all UN sanctions on Iran had been reimposed because “there would appear to be uncertainty” on the issue.

“It is not for the Secretary-General to proceed as if no such uncertainty exists,” Guterres wrote in a letter to the council, seen by Reuters.

Moreover, the European parties to the JCPOA issued a joint statement on Sunday saying the US' "purported notification" was "incapable of having any legal effect".

“France, Germany and the United Kingdom note that the US ceased to be a participant to the JCPOA following their withdrawal from the deal on May 8, 2018. Consequently, the purported notification… is incapable of having legal effect. It flows from this that any decisions and actions which would be taken based on this procedure or on its possible outcome would also be incapable of having any legal effect,” the statement read.

Source: Iran Daily