US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he is directing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to notify the United Nations Security Council that the United States intends to restore virtually all previously suspended UN sanctions on Iran.
“It’s a snapback, not uncommon,” Trump said at a press briefing.
Reuters reported earlier that Pompeo will likely travel to New York on Thursday to seek a return of all UN sanctions on Iran and meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Barak Ravid of the Walla! website reported on Wednesday that the Trump administration has informed Israel that it intends to submit a request to the UN Security Council to activate the "snapback" mechanism within the framework of the nuclear agreement with Iran.
Trump’s move to activate the “snapback” comes after the UN Security Council rejected the US resolution to extend the arms embargo on Iran, which is due to expire in October.
Only two of the Council's 15 members voted in favor of the US resolution.
Washington's European allies all abstained, Russia and China voted against it, and Iran mocked the Trump administration for winning the support of just one other country, the Dominican Republic.
Before the vote, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed "great hopes" that the US bid to extend the arms embargo will fail, warning of consequences if the UN Security Council backs it.