"Tehran's message to Washington is clear — return to the international community, act in accordance with your obligations and stop the rebellion. In this case, the international community will accept you [Washington]", Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a press statement, as quoted by Iran's ISNA news agency.
The Islamic Republic also stressed that the claims about the restoration of the sanctions are false as no such developments took place at the UN Security Council.
"The US' claim about the return of UN Security Council resolutions on Iran sanctions is false. The request of the US, which is not a JCPOA member, to launch the process of restoring the sanctions was resolutely rejected by the Security Council and never began", the statement read.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry further described Washington's actions as making the US appear as "the biggest threat to peace and international security."
Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed "the return of virtually all previously terminated UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran" under the snapback mechanism of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. The mechanism envisions punitive measures in the case if Iran violates its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The JCPOA was signed in 2015 by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union, stipulating the removal of international sanctions from Tehran in exchange for it scaling down its nuclear programme. The deal was then enshrined in UNSC Resolution 2231.
The original deal turned short-lived as the US unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran to which the latter responded by gradually abandoning its own commitments and completely withdrawing too a year later.
