The UN Security Council on Friday rejected a US resolution to extend a thirteen-year-old arms embargo on Iran due to expiration in October – a move that is likely to result in the Trump administration attempting to unilaterally extend the embargo.
The short resolution, which would have extended the embargo “until the Security Council decides otherwise,” gathered only two votes in the chamber – the US and the Dominican Republic. It needed nine to pass, and even if it got so many, it would probably have been killed by a veto from China and Russia.
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Russia and China voted no, but did not veto, while the remaining members of the Council abstained.
The embargo expires on October 18 as part of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal – formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). The US has been engaged in a major diplomatic effort to extend allies to embargo, warning that it would give Iran access to weapons that it couluses to destabilize the region and sell it to countries such as Yemen, Venezuela and Syria.
US officials have warned that the expiry of the embargo would allow Iran to buy fighter jets, attackers, tanks, submarines and missiles with a range of up to 300 km.
In a statement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Council “failed to maintain its fundamental mission statement today.”
“It refused a reasonable resolution to extend the 13-year-old arms embargo on Iran and paved the way for the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism to buy and sell conventional weapons without specific UN restrictions for the first time in more than one year. decade, “he said. “The failure of the Security Council to act decisively in defense of international peace and security is unforgettable.”
UN Ambassador Kelly Craft said the US “became ill – but not surprised – because the clear majority of Councilors gave the green light to Iran to buy and sell all manner of conventional weapons.”
“The failure of this moral challenge validates the world’s number one state sponsor of terror, simply to save face and make a failed political deal made outside the Council,” she said, citing the failure of ‘ the resolution “perfectly outlines the current state of the Council of Paralysis and is inactive in the face of growing threats.”
Pompeo said a number of Arab peoples like Israel supported extending the embargo. But a number of diplomats feared that if it extended the arms embargo, Iran would abandon the already fragile deal, of which the US announced its withdrawal in 2018.
Acting British Ambassador Jonathan Allen said in a statement that although the UK was concerned about Iran’s destabilizing behavior in the region, “because it was clear that it would not attract the support of the Council and no representation would provide a basis for reaching consensus “and would therefore not contribute to regional stability.
“Nevertheless, we are ready to work with Councilors and JCPoA participants to find a way forward that can secure the Council’s support,” he said.
In a lengthy statement to the Council, Iranian Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi accused the US of creating a ‘fabricated crisis over Iran’s nuclear program’, and that it was now ‘creating a new crisis under the so-called label’. arms proliferation. ‘
Iranian dissidents were outraged at the possibility of lifting the embargo, with Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Iran’s Resistance (NCRI), describing an embargo as “indispensable for regional and global peace and security.” “
“The regime’s unrestricted purchase and sale of weapons will have no result other than terrorism, heat mongering, and the export of fundamentalism,” she said.
The US has not said in any ambiguous terms that it intends to use other means to extend the arms embargo, and it could do so as soon as next week. UN Ambassador Kelly Craft had said the US “will use all tools in our toolbox.”
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Specifically, UN Resolution 2231, which anchored the deal, includes a snapback mechanism that allows an individual nation to re-impose sanctions on Iran – including the arms embargo. Although the US left the Iran deal, it claims to still retain rights under 2231 and is likely to attempt to use this power.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow and expert of Iran at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Fox News that while Iran was the ‘big winner’, so were Russia and China.
“From both a mercantilist and strategic perspective, selectively supporting Iran means more headaches for America in the Middle East, which translates into less time and resources spent on fierce competition for power,” he said.
However, he warned that diplomatic efforts on the part of the US were probably only temporary: ‘Today’s vote means that Washington will almost certainly have to push for a full’ snapback ‘of sanctions. One piece approach does not work. ”
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Friday called a meeting of leaders of the five permanent members of the Security Council, along with Germany and Iran, in what the Kremlin called an effort to prevent escalation.
“Once the leaders are fundamentally ready for a conversation, we propose to coordinate the agenda immediately,” Putin said. “The alternative is to build up tension further, to increase the risk of conflict. This development must be prevented. “
The office of French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France’s “availability in principle” to Putin’s proposal.
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Craft said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday that the United States is “keeping the space open” for talks with Britain, France and Germany, as well as Russia and China.
However, she warned that “we will not take no for an answer.”
Rich News of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
