Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, who was accompanying Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a trip to Moscow, held a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov on Thursday.
In the meeting, the two diplomats emphasized that the United States’ attempts to re-impose the anti-Iran sanctions lifted by the UN Security Council are illegal.
Araqchi and Ryabkov also discussed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and efforts by the remaining parties to save and implement the agreement in full, IFP reported.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that all UN sanctions against Iran were “back in effect” under the so-called snapback provision in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Pompeo said last month that he triggered a 30-day process at the council leading to the return of UN sanctions on Iran on Saturday evening that would also stop a conventional arms embargo on Tehran from expiring on Oct. 18.
But 13 of the 15 Security Council members say Washington’s move is void because Pompeo used a mechanism agreed under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which the United States quit in 2018.
Washington argues it triggered the return of sanctions - known as “snapback” - because a UN resolution that enshrines the pact still names it as a participant. Diplomats say few countries are likely to re-impose the measures lifted under the 2015 deal.