United Nations have reimposed an arms embargo and other sanctions against Iran, following a process initiated by key European powers, which Tehran warned would be met with a harsh response.
Britain, France and Germany have launched a reimposition of sanctions against Iran at the UN Security Council over accusations that the country violated a 2015 deal aimed at preventing the development of a nuclear bomb. Iran denies that it is seeking nuclear weapons, reports Reuters.
The European troika announced that "the reintroduction of UN sanctions is not the end of diplomacy", appealing to Iran to refrain from escalating actions.
Russia contested the reinstatement of UN sanctions on Iran.
"It is illegal and cannot be implemented," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters at the UN earlier on Saturday, adding that he had written to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning that it would be a "big mistake" for him to recognize the return of sanctions on Iran, Reuters reported.
New sanctions 10 years after the previous ones
Following a green light from the UN Security Council and the failure of Russia and China on Friday to extend the deadline for imposing the sanctions, the sanctions came into effect ten years after they were lifted.
Iran called the reimposition of UN sanctions "unjustified" and called on all countries not to apply them.
"The reactivation of the repealed resolutions is legally baseless and unjustified. All countries must refrain from recognizing this illegal situation," said a statement from Iran's diplomacy, Iran's first official response to the reimposition of sanctions.
Iran will "resolutely defend its national rights and interests, and any action aimed at harming the interests and rights of its people will be met with a firm and appropriate response," Iran's Foreign Ministry said, without giving details.
Iran announced on Saturday that it was withdrawing its ambassadors to Great Britain, France and Germany for consultations.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon country to enrich uranium to 60 percent, which is close to the 90 percent threshold needed to produce an atomic bomb.
Source: Reuters/Beta
