LONDON: France, Germany and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement on Thursday (Friday in Manila) saying that they cannot support the United States in seeking to reimpose sanctions on Iran. The US sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday requesting to initiate the “snapback” mechanism, which allows a participant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) to seek the reimposition against Iran of the multilateral sanctions lifted in 2015 in accordance with resolution 2231, adopted by the UN Security Council. “The US ceased to be a participant to the JCPoA following their withdrawal from the deal on 8 May, 2018… We cannot therefore support this action which is incompatible with our current efforts to support the JCPoA,” the statement noted. France, Germany and the UK said they “are committed to preserving the processes and institutions which constitute the foundation of multilateralism. We remain guided by the objective of upholding the authority and integrity of the United Nations Security Council.

Source: Manila Times August 21, 2020 16:18 UTC