Pompeo, Heiko Maas discuss Iran over phone

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday discussed Iran and other issues in a phone conversation with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, the U.S. State Department said in a statement, reported Xinhua.

"Pompeo underscored the need for a unified Transatlantic response to hold Iran accountable and ensure the Security Council lives up to its responsibility to maintain international peace and security," said the statement.

Pompeo and his German counterpart also discussed issues related to Belarus and Russia, according to the statement.

The two allies have been at odds with each other on the issue of Iran, and Washington was largely isolated among its allies on this issue as the UN Security Council last Friday failed to adopt a U.S.-drafted resolution to extend the arms embargo against Iran.

The draft resolution did not get the required nine votes in favor of adoption. Besides the United States, only the Dominican Republic voted in favor of the draft. China and Russia voted against the text, and the remaining 11 Security Council members, including Germany and other U.S. European allies, abstained.

After its attempt to extend arms embargo against Iran failed, the United States threatened to invoke snapback sanction against Iran, referring to restoring all pre-2015 UN sanctions against Iran.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said that the United States is no longer a participant of the Iran nuclear deal and therefore ineligible to demand the Security Council invoke a snapback.

Foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany noted in June that they would not support any unilateral attempt to trigger UN sanctions snapback.

Under Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the six powers of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, the arms embargo against Iran expires on Oct. 18, 2020. Tehran said it would not accept a renewal of the embargo.