EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell
EU foreign affairs chief Josep BorrellReuters

The European Union’s top diplomat said Tuesday that since the United States has already withdrawn from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, it can’t now use its former membership of the pact to try to impose a permanent arms embargo on the Islamic Republic, The Associated Press reports.

A ban on selling conventional weapons to Iran ends in October under a 2015 Security Council resolution that blessed the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and from which US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently vowed to use all means available to extend the UN arms embargo on Iran.

But speaking to reporters Tuesday after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell insisted that since the US has pulled out of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, it can no longer claim to have a role in it.

“The United States has withdrawn from the JCPOA, and now they cannot claim that they are still part of the JCPOA in order to deal with this issue from the JCPOA agreement. They withdraw. It’s clear. They withdraw,” Borrell said, according to AP.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the Trump administration of unleashing a politically motivated campaign against Iran and he called for “universal condemnation” of the US attempt to get the UN Security Council to impose a permanent arms embargo.

Iran's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, recently dismissed the US threats to trigger a return of all UN sanctions if the arms embargo isn’t extended as "foolish claims".

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council warned that the 2015 nuclear deal signed would “die forever” if the US is able to maintain the arms embargo on Iran.