The top US envoy to Iran said the expiration of the UN arms embargo against the Islamic Republic should be renewed to avoid “becoming the arms dealer of choice for rebel regimes and terrorist organizations,” hours before Tehran issue an arrest warrant for President Trump for the murder of a senior general.
“If we let it expire, you can be sure that what Iran has been doing in the dark, it will do in broad daylight and more,” Brian Hook told The Associated Press on Sunday.
“If we play by Iran’s rules, Iran wins. It is a mafia tactic where people are intimidated into accepting certain types of behavior for fear of something much worse, “Hook said of the mullahs’ threats to retaliate if the embargo, which expires in October, continues.
Hours after his comments, Iran issued an arrest warrant and asked Interpol for help in arresting President Trump and a group of other officials who he said were involved in the US drone attack that killed the general. Qassem Soleimani.
The assassination of the top military commander on January 3 in Baghdad prompted Iran to launch missiles at US targets in Iraq.
In retaliation for an extension of the arms embargo, Iran could expel international inspectors who oversee its nuclear program, deepening a crisis that erupted when Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Tehran nuclear deal with world powers.
So far, the UN embargo has prevented Iran from buying fighter jets, tanks, and warships, but has been unable to stop arms smuggling in war zones.
Despite that, Hook insisted that both the import and export ban to Tehran must be maintained to ensure a broader region.
Iran’s mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The AP on Hook’s comments.
However, President Hassan Rouhani described Sunday 2020 as his country’s “most difficult year” due to the US economic pressure campaign and the coronavirus pandemic.
Since Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal, Iran has broken all the pact’s production limits.
The UN International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Tehran’s nuclear activity as part of the deal, said the country’s low-enriched uranium reserve continues to grow.
Meanwhile, Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said on Monday that Trump and more than 30 people face “murder and terrorism charges,” the semi-official ISNA news agency reported, according to Al Jazeera.
Alqasimehr also said Iran had requested a “red notice” for Trump and the others, the highest-level notice issued by Interpol, based in Lyon, France.
The international police agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the media outlet.
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