US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has expressed belief that international sanctions on Iran will be swiftly reimposed after a mechanism to help enforce the 2015 nuclear agreement has been triggered.
"I've had very direct discussions - as well as Secretary (Mike) Pompeo has - with our counterparts" in Europe, Mnuchin told CNBC on Wednesday.
“We look forward to working with them quickly and would expect that the UN sanctions will snap back into place,” he said.
Three EU countries on Tuesday launched a process charging Iran with failing to observe the terms of the 2015 deal curtailing its nuclear program.
Britain, France and Germany insisted they remained committed to the agreement, which has already been severely tested by the US exit from it in 2018.
The foreign ministers of the three European nations said Iran had been progressively scaling back its commitments under the deal since May of last year.
The 2015 nuclear deal signed in Vienna -- known as The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) -- has a provision that allows a party to claim significant non-compliance by another party before a joint commission.
If the issue is not resolved by the commission, it then goes to an advisory board and eventually to the UN Security Council, which could reimpose sanctions.
