Pompeo pressures Iran arms embargo at UN, Russia says US kneels on Iran’s neck

NEW YORK (Reuters) – United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressured the UN Security Council on Tuesday to extend an arms embargo on Iran before it expires in October, prompting Russia to criticize the Washington’s policy towards Tehran as “putting a knee” in the country. neck.

The United States has circulated a draft resolution to the 15-member council that would indefinitely extend the arms embargo to Tehran, but the veto powers of the Russian and Chinese council have already expressed opposition to the measure.

“Don’t take it only from the United States, listen to the countries of the region. From Israel to the Gulf, countries in the Middle East, which are most exposed to Iran’s depredations, are speaking with one voice: extending the arms embargo, “Pompeo said in a virtual Security Council meeting.

The administration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has long argued that the arms embargo on Iran should not be lifted. The arms embargo will end in mid-October under the 2015 Tehran nuclear deal with Britain, Germany, France, China, Russia and the administration of Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.

Since Trump took office in 2017, his administration has given up on the nuclear deal and has steadily increased sanctions against Iran in what Washington describes as a top-pressure approach.

Addressing the council, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, described the policy as “a policy of maximum suffocation.”

“The task is to achieve regime change or create a situation where Iran literally cannot breathe.” This is like putting a knee to your neck, ”he said in a veiled reference to the death of a black man in Minneapolis after a white police officer knelt on his neck. George Floyd’s death sparked protests across the United States and around the world.

‘LAW OF JUNGLE’

The Security Council met Tuesday to discuss a report by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, which determined that the cruise missiles used in several attacks on oil facilities and an international airport in Saudi Arabia last year were of “origin Iranian”.

Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the UN Abdullah Al Mouallimi said Russia and China had been “sympathetic” to the Riyadh situation, but when it came to the proposal to extend the arms embargo to Iran “they presumably had many points that settle with the United States. ”

“We are trying to separate the two issues in our conversations with them, which … are open, are friendly discussions, are based on the good relations we enjoy with both countries,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday.

If Washington fails to extend the arms embargo, it has threatened to trigger in the Security Council the return of all UN sanctions against Iran under the nuclear deal, even though it left the deal in 2018. Diplomats say that Washington would face a tough and messy battle.

Iran has breached parts of the nuclear deal in response to the U.S. withdrawal and the reimposition of Washington sanctions.

UN Head of Political Affairs and Peacebuilding Rosemary DiCarlo said the nuclear deal was crucial to regional and international security, adding: “It is therefore regrettable that the future of this deal is in doubt. ”

Britain, France and Germany expressed concern to the council that lifting the arms embargo on Iran would have important implications for regional security and stability. However, they also said they would not support the United States’ efforts to unilaterally trigger the return of all UN sanctions against Iran.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said: “The international community in general, and the UN Security Council in particular, face an important decision: do we maintain respect for the rule of law or do we return to jungle right? Surrender to the whims of an outlaw stalker?