Pompeo creating complex Iran deal legal argument, to pressure U.N. to renew arms emargo

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is reportedly preparing a complex legal argument that the U.S. is still a participant in the Iran nuclear deal that the Trump administration has loudly denounced for several years. The reasoning behind Pompeo’s action is to apply pressure to the U.N. Security Council to extend the terms of a weapons embargo on Tehran.

A renewal of the embargo, set to lapse this October, will almost certainly not be supported by Russia and China, who wish to continue selling arms to Iran.

The theory behind Pompeo’s legal argument is that if America claims to still legally be a part of the nuclear accord, it will be able to invoke “snapback” U.N. sanctions on Iran that were developed prior to the nuclear deal.

Iran has, at this point, violated the terms of the nuclear agreement, so, if the embargo is not renewed, the United States would theoretically be able to invoke snapback sanctions far more stringent than the ones currently in place.

The administration’s larger goal is likely to force Iranian leaders to agree entirely to give up on the Obama-era treaty, allowing fresh negotiations to begin in Washington.

Pompeo’s is an intricate strategy being deployed to prevent Iran from purchasing conventional weapons from a variety of nations across the globe. “President Obama should never have agreed to end the U.N. arms embargo,” said Pompeo, “We are prepared to exercise all of our diplomatic options to ensure the arms embargo stays in place at the U.N. Security Council.”

The fear from the State Department is that if the embargo is lifted, Iran will continue to supply arms to terrorist groups, including groups in war ravaged Syria and Hezbollah.

The arms embargo is expiring because of a United Nations Security Council resolution that was passed with the nuclear accord to gradually lift sanctions on Iran. Small arms restrictions will lift this year, the embargo on missiles will lift in another three.