UN Chief Guterres to meet Mike Pompeo to discuss fresh sanctions on Iran

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on August 20 in his residence in New York. According to reports, a UN spokesperson has stated that the meeting between the two officials will take place at 2:30 pm local time and the meeting will take place at his residence because Guterres is currently self-isolating himself after traveling to Portugal.

In-person meeting in New York

As per reports, during the meeting with Guterres, Pompeo is expected to begin the procedures for snapback sanctions against Iran. The call for snapback sanctions against Iran comes after a US resolution in the UN Security Council for the indefinite extension of an arms embargo against Iran was soundly defeated.

The snapback sanctions which are outlined in UN Resolution 2231 concern the 2015 Nuclear deal with Iran and states that if any of the signatories find that another is not honouring its commitments as per the UN accord, then the UN Security Council can vote on whether to continue with the suspension of the economic sanctions against Tehran. During the Security Council vote, it=f the United States unilaterally vetoes the resolution as a UNSC permanent member then all sanctions again Iran prior to the 2015 nuclear deal will be reinstated.

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Iran Rejects US accusation

Iran has denied that it paid Taliban fighters to target US forces and its allies in Afghanistan. As per reports, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh stated that the claims made by the United States were “entirely false”, he also added that the accusation were attempts by the US to hide its “miscalculations” in Afghanistan. Media Reports on August 17 stated that US intelligence agencies had concluded that Iran had offered bounties to Taliban fighters for targeting the US and coalition troops in Afghanistan.

Read: Iran Rejects US Accusation, Did Not Pay Taliban To Target US Troops In Afghanistan

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