Esmail Baqaei Hamaneh

Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN Office in Geneva called the unilateral sanctions a crime against humanity and said Europe's passive approach to US unilateral sanctions is unacceptable.

Iran Press/Europe: Esmail Baqaei Hamaneh, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN Office in Geneva noting the United States' indifference to the numerous requests of the UN Secretary-General, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as human rights mechanisms to lift sanctions, called the US regime's approach a warning signal to the international community and asked for a confrontation.

Baqaei Hamaneh called the recent US claim that it had unilaterally reinstated the repealed Security Council resolutions another sign of US bullying and the disregard of its rulers for international law and the UN Charter.

He also added: "Even international judicial institutions such as the International Criminal Court are not immune to US addiction to sanctions."

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its policy of maximum resistance to illegal and unjust pressure from the United States," Hamaneh said.

At the UN Human Rights Council meeting, a number of developing countries supported the continued work of the UN Special Rapporteur on the effects of unilateral sanctions on human rights.

European countries, along with Japan, Canada, Australia, and South Korea, have refused to participate in and take a stand on the issue of unilateral sanctions.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have mounted following Trump’s withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear agreement in 2018, calling it “the worst deal ever.”

The 2015 agreement lifted sanctions on Iran. In exchange for sanctions relief, Iran accepted limits on its nuclear program until the terms expire in 2025.

Following Washington’s exit from the nuclear deal, other signatories of the pact ⁠— France, Germany, the UK, Russia, and China ⁠— tried to keep the agreement alive.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said European leaders “haven’t lifted a finger” to halt arms sales to Iran after they rejected a unilateral US declaration that UN sanctions on Tehran were back in force.

The Trump administration on Monday announced a series of new sanctions and additional measures in support of Washington’s maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian government. 101/216

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