The United States has no right to trigger a return of all UN sanctions on Iran, the Iranian foreign minister said in a letter to the United Nations, calling on members of the Security Council to reject Washington's push.
"The letter has been submitted to the head of UN Security Council by Iran's envoy," state TV quoted the foreign ministry as saying.
US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his administration will activate the controversial mechanism aimed at reimposing UN sanctions on Iran.
"It's a snapback, not uncommon," Trump told reporters in Washington, despite the contested measure having never been used before.
The move comes after the United States was defeated at the Security Council last week when it failed to garner support for a resolution to extend the arms embargo on Iran.
"Snapback" aims to restore all international sanctions against Iran that were lifted as part of the 2015 accord with Tehran that sought to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.
But it also threatens to torpedo the historic Iran nuclear deal that the US, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany signed with Tehran in 2015.
Trump withdrew the US from the agreement, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018 and introduced American sanctions on Iran as part of a "maximum pressure" campaign against the Iranian regime.
