US threat of ‘snapback’ against Iran is cynical ploy of a rogue nation

By Dennis Etler

In the fashion of a gluttonous monster, when it comes to the Iranian nuclear deal the US thinks it can have its cake and eat it too. In 2015 the US was instrumental in securing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to limit Iran's nuclear program along with China, Russia, the UK, France, and Germany, but the current US President made it a plank of his presidency to renounce the agreement and withdraw from it.

The United States announced its withdrawal from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018. In a joint statement responding to the US withdrawal, the leaders of France, Germany, and the UK stated that the United Nations Security Council resolution endorsing the nuclear deal remained the "binding international legal framework for the resolution of the dispute." China and Russia have also denounced the US withdrawal and rallied in support of the Iranian position.

As a result of the US withdrawal, it reimposed unilateral economic sanctions against Iran and has continually threatened to escalate punitive measures against the Islamic Republic in a campaign of "maximum pressure" to force it to renegotiate the agreement with terms dictated by the US.

In response to the US withdrawal, on May 17 2018, the European Commission declared US sanctions against Iran illegal in Europe and banned European citizens and companies from complying with them. The commission also instructed the European Investment Bank to facilitate European companies' investment in Iran while both Russia and China have launched long-term initiatives to support the development of bilateral relations with Iran.

In light of all this, there is no question that the US is no longer a party to the JCPOA and has thus lost any voice in its implementation. The isolated position of the US was reflected by the lopsided rejection by the UN Security Council of the American proposal to reinstate an arms embargo on Iran after Oct. 2020 when it is scheduled to terminate.

Embarrassed by its utter failure to gain support for its draft resolution the US has counted with a threat to demand a so-called "snapback" of the JCPOA which would basically declare that Iran was in violation of the agreement and reimpose UN sanctions against it. The US has stated that it can do so because it was still a party to the original  JCPOA. The absurdity of that claim is apparent to all parties to the agreement, but the arrogant and cynical US plans to go ahead nonetheless.

It is incumbent upon the UN Security Council and the entire international community to reject this cynical ploy of the US and declare any such attempt null and void. Both China and Russia as signatories to the JCPOA have roundly denounced the US perfidy and called for an international conference to resolve the matter and reduce tensions in the region, a call which the US has rejected.

It is clear that the US has dug a hole from which it cannot climb out. The international community of nations must rally around Iran and refuse to go along in any fashion with unilateral and illegal sanctions imposed by the US. Mechanisms to punish the US for its unilateral intransigence must also be devised. If not the US will continue to act with impunity as a rogue nation.

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Dennis Etler is an American political analyst who has a decades-long interest in international affairs. He’s a former professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California. He has a PhD in anthropology from the University of California in Berkeley. He recorded this article for Press TV website.

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