Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Saturday that the United States’ sanctions on Iran violate the United Nations charter and international law.

“Malaysia does not support the reimposition of the unilateral sanctions by the U.S. against Iran,” he told the Doha Forum, according to Reuters.

Malaysia and other countries have lost “a big market” because of the sanctions on Iran, he said.

“Such sanctions clearly violate the United Nations charter and international law; sanctions can only be applied by the United Nations in accordance with the charter,” he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump quit the 2015 nuclear deal in May 2018 and introduced the harshest ever sanctions on Iran as part of the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.

Also on November 3, the Malaysian prime minister said the U.S. sanctions against Iran are unlawful.

“There is no provision in the United Nations that a country which is dissatisfied with another country can impose sanctions on that country and other countries trading with that nation,” Free Malaysia Today quoted the prime minister as saying in a press conference on the sidelines of the 35th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.

“When you apply sanctions, it is against the law,” he noted.

He said, “The sanctions don’t apply to one country alone,” he said, adding that Malaysia is now being sanctioned.

NA/PA