U.N. Security Council dismisses U.S. sanctions move on Iran

The president of the U.N. Security Council, Indonesia, said on Tuesday it was “not in the position to take further action” on a U.S. bid to trigger a return of all U.N. sanctions on Iran because there is no consensus in the 15-member body.

Indonesia’s U.N. Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, council president for August, was responding to a question from Russia and China on the issue during a meeting on the Middle East.

“Let me just make it really, really clear: the Trump administration has no fear in standing in limited company on this matter,” she told the council. “I only regret that other members of this council have lost their way and now find themselves standing in the company of terrorists.”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he triggered on Thursday a 30-day process to reimpose all international sanctions on Iran by lodging a complaint with the council accusing Iran of breaching the 2015 nuclear deal.

A spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations said it “is on firm legal ground to initiate the restoration of sanctions” and “the fact that some council members expressed disagreement …. does not have any legal effect.”