Mike Pompeo
Mike PompeoReuters

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted Wednesday the United States will enforce new "UN" sanctions on Iran starting next week.

"The United States will do what it always does. It will do its share as part of its responsibilities to enable peace, this time in the Middle East," Pompeo told a joint news conference with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, according to AFP.

"We'll do all the things we need to do to make sure that those sanctions are enforced," he said.

In August, Washington started the process of restoring all pre-2015 UN sanctions against Iran. The move to activate the “snapback” came after the UN Security Council rejected the US resolution to extend the arms embargo on Iran, which is due to expire in October.

However, the president of the UN Security Council rejected the US demand, saying there was no general agreement among council members.

The "snapback" move is part of a 2015 Security Council resolution which allows any participant in a nuclear accord with Iran negotiated under former President Barack Obama to reimpose sanctions, which would take effect one month afterward.

President Donald Trump pulled out of the accord in 2018, but Pompeo argues that the United States remains a "participant" as it was listed in the 2015 resolution.

The sanctions are authorized by a "valid UN Security Council resolution," Pompeo said.