President Trump on Wednesday announced that the U.S. intends to “snapback” sanctions on Iran, days after the U.N. Security Council failed to extend a soon-to-expire arms embargo on Iran.

“Today I am directing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to notify the U.N. Security Council that the United States intends to restore virtually all the previously suspended United Nations sanctions on Iran,” the president said in a news conference with reporters. “It’s a snapback.”

CRUZ CALLS FOR US TO INVOKE ‘SNAPBACK’ ON IRAN ARMS EMBARGO AFTER FAILED UN VOTE, HITS EUROPEAN FECKLESSNESS 

The snapback mechanism was included as part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) — and allows an individual participant of the deal to restore all U.N. sanctions on Tehran should it deem it to be in violation of the deal.

The U.S. left the Obama-era deal in 2018 but claims to reserve rights as a participating member under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which codified the deal. Trump has been a furious critic of the deal and pointed his finger at both President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden.

“This deal funneled tens of billions of dollars to Iran, $150 billion to be exact plus $1.8 billion in cash, which I don’t know the president had the authority to give….just another great deal that turned out to be a total disaster that would have funded all the chaos and bloodshed in the region and the world,” he said.

It comes after the Council on Friday rejected a U.S. resolution to extend a thirteen-year-old arms embargo on Iran that was due to expire in October as part of the nuclear deal. The expiration of that embargo would allow Iran to buy fighter jets, attack helicopters, tanks, submarines, and missiles with a range of up to 300 km. The U.S. has warned it could result in Iran selling arms to countries like Venezuela and Syria.

But while other countries, including allies like U.S., Germany, and France, were not supportive of Iran gaining access to arms, there are fears among diplomats that a “snapback” could lead to Iran walking away from the deal altogether and ramping up its aims of gaining a nuclear weapon.

UN SECURITY COUNCIL REJECTS US RESOLUTION TO EXTEND IRAN ARMS EMBARGO 

Invoking snapback will also trigger a battle at the U.N. over whether the U.S. can move forward with the process.

“Having withdrawn from the JCPoA, the U.S. is no longer a JCPoA participant and therefore ineligible to demand the Security Council invoke a snapback,” Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun said in a statement on Friday.

The U.S. has 30 days to pass a resolution to stop snapback from happening.  While Russia, China, and other members of the JCPoA are clamoring to look for ways to halt snapback it would seem they are fighting a losing battle.

“We can expect China and Russia to play all kinds of games but in the end, if a resolution to stop the U.S. snapback doesn’t pass in 30 days, America wins,” Richard Goldberg a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank in Washington D.C., told Fox News.

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is calling for the Trump administration to use the snapback mechanism in the Iran nuclear deal that would allow the U.S. to force the reimposition of sanctions on Tehran — after the U.N. Security Council failed to extend a soon-to-expire arms embargo.

“The fecklessness of our European allies has left the United States with one option, and one option only, to prevent an expiration of the arms embargo,” Cruz said in a blistering statement on Monday. “It’s time for the United States to finally and irreversibly end what remains of the disastrous deal and the benefits that Iran gets from it by invoking the snapback mechanism described in the deal’s United Nations resolution.”

UN SECURITY COUNCIL REJECTS US RESOLUTION TO EXTEND IRAN ARMS EMBARGO 

The U.N. Security Council on Friday rejected a U.S. resolution to extend the arms embargo on Iran that is due to expire on Oct. 18 as part of the Iran nuclear deal. The expiration of the embargo would allow Iran to buy fighter jets, attack helicopters, tanks, submarines, and missiles with a range of up to 300 km. The U.S. has warned it could result in Iran selling arms to countries like Venezuela and Syria.

The short resolution, which would have extended the embargo “until the Security Council decides otherwise,” mustered only two votes in the chamber — the U.S. and the Dominican Republic. It needed nine to pass.

Russia and China voted no but did not need to deploy a veto, while the remaining members of the Council, including Britain, Germany, and France, abstained.

Acting U.K. Ambassador Jonathan Allen said in a statement that while the U.K. had set out its concerns of Iran’s destabilizing behavior in the region, the U.K. abstained, “because it was clear that it would not attract the support of the Council and would not represent a basis for achieving consensus” and would therefore not contribute to regional stability.

“Nevertheless, we stand ready to work with council members and [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] participants to seek a path forward that could secure the support of the council,” he said.

The U.S. has said in no uncertain terms that it intends to use other means to extend the arms embargo, and could do so as early as next week. U.N. Ambassador Kelly Craft had said that the U.S. will “use every tool in our toolbox.”

US TO ACT ‘IN THE COMING DAYS’ ON IRAN ARMS EMBARGO AFTER UN SECURITY COUNCIL REJECTS EXTENSION

The U.N. resolution that enshrined the deal, includes a “snapback” mechanism that allows an individual nation to reimpose expiring sanctions on Iran — including the arms embargo — by filing a complaint to a Security Council panel. Although the U.S. left the Iran deal, it claims to still retain rights under the resolution and officials will likely seek to use that power.

The post Cruz calls for US to invoke ‘snapback’ on Iran arms embargo after failed UN vote, hits European ‘fecklessness’ first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.