'US not in position to reimpose Iran sanctions, Europe won't concur with decision': Macron

European participants of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as ‘Iran nuclear deal’ will not cooperate with the United States over its move to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran, French President Emmanuel Macron said at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting on Tuesday.

"We will not compromise on the activation of a mechanism that the United States is not in a position to activate on its own after leaving the agreement. That would be to undermine the Security Council and the integrity of its decisions and would further exacerbate tensions in the region," Macron said.

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Washington is slapping new sanctions on Iranian officials and entities after its attempt to reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran over the weekend was largely rejected. These sanctions against the Iranian Ministry of Defence and embattled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, among others, were taken under a new executive order issued by the US, which is aimed at preventing conventional arms transfers to Iran.

Several EU officials and representatives have rejected the unilateral decision of the US to return all sanctions on Iran. Josep Borrell, the coordinator of the JCPoA Joint Commission stated that the US unilaterally ceased participation in the Joint Action Plan in May 2018 and has not participated in any JCPoA-related activities since then. Therefore, it cannot initiate the process of reinstating UN sanctions under the UN Security Council resolution 2231. Britain, France, and Germany said in a joint statement that they have worked tirelessly to preserve the nuclear agreement and remain committed to doing so.

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Iran nuclear deal

In 2015, Iran signed the JCPOA agreement with Russia, China, France, Germany, the European Union, the UK, and the US. Under the agreement, Tehran vowed to downsize its nuclear program and strictly downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the adoption of the deal.

In 2018, the US abandoned its pacifying stance on Iran and withdrew from the JCPOA, implementing hard-line policies against the nation. Recently, Washington unilaterally re-imposed UN sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the Iran nuclear deal.

However, the refusal from other parties of the JCPoA to recognise America’s unilateral declaration of sanctions raised questions whether the United States has been isolated on the issue. Pompeo said the US made it very clear that every member-state in the UN has a responsibility to enforce these sanctions, claiming that it’s Iran that has been isolated and not the United States.

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(With inputs from agency)