President Donald Trump opened his Wednesday White House coronavirus briefing by telling reporters that the United States will ask the United Nations to restore the Iranian sanctions previously suspended by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
“Today I’m directing the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to notify the U.N. Security Council that the United States intends to restore all the previously suspended United Nations sanctions on Iran,” the president stated. “It’s a snapback. Not uncommon.” (RELATED: Iran Paid Taliban Fighters To Attack US Assets In Afghanistan, Leading To Trump Ordering Killing Of Soleimani)
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 19: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump added that the JCPOA, commonly referred to as the Iranian Nuclear Deal, was “a product of the Obama—Biden foreign policy failure. A failure like few people have seen in terms of the amount of money we paid for absolutely nothing and a short-term deal.”
The president claimed that if he wins reelection, “within the first month Iran will come to us and they are going to be asking for a deal so quickly because they are doing very poorly.”
“My administration will not allow this Iran nuclear situation to go on,” he continued. “They will never have a nuclear weapon, Iran will never have. Mark it down, mark it down. Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”
WATCH:
Israeli officials reportedly told Axios earlier in the day that U.S. officials had notified them of Trump’s snapback intentions.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo similarly stated Wednesday that he would “soon” petition the UN to restore sanctions on Iran.
Trump’s announcement comes just two days after reports surfaced involving alleged bounties paid by Iran to Taliban-backed fighters for at least six deadly attacks on U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Two U.S. officials told CNN that the information led to Trump’s decision to kill former Iranian Quds Force General Qasem Soleimani in January.