(CNN) The Trump administration was left isolated on the world stage as foreign allies and competitors alike rejected its demand to restore UN sanctions on Iran Thursday. Despite President Donald Trump's decision to pull the US out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that the US has "every capacity" under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which enshrined the international agreement, to trigger so-called snapback sanctions, because the US was initially a party to the deal. The top US diplomat pointed to Iranian violations of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as justification for the unilateral US move. "It's written, it's plain, it's very straightforward," he said. Pompeo added that a UN Security Council resolution can only be changed by a subsequent Security Council resolution.

Source: CNN August 20, 2020 23:37 UTC