The Guardian | Julian Borger: Letters from 13 of 15 members underscore US isolation as it seeks to snap back measures against Tehran
The extent of US isolation at the UN has been driven home by formal letters from 13 of the 15 security council members opposing Trump administration attempts to extend the economic embargo on Iran.
The letters by the council members were all issued in the 24 hours since the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, came to the UNs New York headquarters to declare Iran in non-compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal.
Under that deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), comprehensive UN sanctions on Iran would be restored 30 days after the declaration. But almost every other council member has issued letters saying that the US has no standing to trigger this sanctions snapback because it left the JCPOA in May 2018.