The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday – Friday plus breaking news updates
The US will demand on Thursday that all United Nations sanctions be reimposed against Iran.
Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday the call was a “snap back” for all international sanctions to be reintroduced against Iran.
The US President was referring to the so-called “snapback” mechanism that was approved with the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six major powers.
Under the deal, Tehran received billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. The “snapback” mechanism was created in the event Tehran was proven to be in violation of the accord.
Mr Trump said the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo will travel to New York on Thursday to present the US demand to reimpose the sanctions, accusing Iran of significant non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.
“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” Mr Trump said during the press briefing.
It comes after Washington’s embarrassing defeat to extend an arms embargo against Tehran.
The US won just one other “yes” vote, with China and Russia opposed and the 11 other members abstaining.
Other nations claim the US has no standing to make the demand because the Trump administration pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal two years ago.
“Iran’s support for its proxies in Syria only helps to bolster the Assad regime and undermine the UN process,” said US Ambassador Kelly Craft in remarks at Wednesday’s council meeting on Syria.
“How will giving Iran access to more weapons serve the interests of international peace and security?”
Mr Trump called the 2015 Iran nuclear accord a “ridiculous” deal and noted that sanctions have crippled Iran’s economy.
“When I win the election, within the first month, Iran will come to us”, and seek a deal, said the president as he noted how sanctions have crippled Iran’s economy.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that since the US is no longer a party to the nuclear deal it “has no right to demand the Security Council to activate the rapid reinstatement of sanctions mechanism.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the Trump administration of unleashing a politically motivated campaign against Iran and called for “universal condemnation” of the US attempt to impose a permanent arms embargo on the Islamic Republic.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mr Pompeo defended the US decision to invoke the snapback provision.
“This will be a fully valid enforceable Security Council resolution and we have every expectation that it will be enforced just like every other Security Council resolution that is in place,” said Mr Pompeo.
“We will be in full compliance with that and we have every expectation that every country in the world will live up to its obligations.”
Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who has long held anti-Iran positions, has said the US lost its snapback standing when it withdrew from the deal and that moving ahead is not worth the damage it could do to US veto power in the council.
Additional reporting by Associated Press.