Iran Calls for UN Action Against US Sanctions

Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General calling for collective action from the UN and members of the international community to counter US sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Gholamali Khoshroo wrote his letter to Antonio Guterres on Monday (November 5), coinciding with the start of the second round of US sanctions against Iran targeting the country's oil, transportation, and banking industries. Following the announcement of the US withdrawal from the six-power agreement with Iran, known as the JCPOA, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, who has repeatedly called this agreement the 'worst' deal in US history, announced the return of all sanctions against Iran that had been suspended in 2015. Senior US officials have repeatedly stated that they decided to impose the harshest sanctions against this country to change the behavior of the Islamic Republic's government, claiming that their target is not the Iranian people; however, Iranian officials, including Hassan Rouhani, believe that the aim of these sanctions is the Iranian citizens. In the letter from Iran's representative to the UN, US sanctions are described as 'illegal and unilateral' and 'inhumane,' imposed 'against the people of Iran,' which the international community must respond to collectively and firmly. Mr. Khoshroo wrote to Mr. Guterres that the US action is 'contrary to numerous international regulations' and 'the well-established principles enshrined in the UN Charter and accepted by the international community, such as the equality of state sovereignty, non-interference in the internal affairs of member states, and freedom of movement and international trade.' He also described the second round of US sanctions starting from November 5, 2018, as 'contrary' to the ruling of the International Court of Justice, stating that 'these sanctions will certainly complicate the conditions governing the ongoing dispute between the parties, which the International Court of Justice has recently mandated the US to refrain from.' His reference to this court indicates that US unilateral sanctions against Tehran should be limited so as not to affect the safety of Iranian passenger flights and the free trade of essential goods such as medicine, medical equipment, agricultural products, and foodstuffs. Khoshroo also considered these sanctions and the blatant threats to other countries and governments regarding continued economic relations with Iran as 'disruption of Iran's economic relations' and added: 'The United States not only openly stands against Security Council Resolution 2231 but shamelessly pressures other governments to violate that resolution.' While the US had previously announced its intention to reduce Iran's oil sales to zero, according to a report by Agence France-Presse, China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey have managed to obtain permission from the US to continue purchasing oil from Iran. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, stated in this regard in the Islamic Consultative Assembly that 'the US wanted Iran's oil sales to reach zero, but its allies opposed it,' and this is one of the 'successes of the JCPOA.'