UN defeats U.S. demand to extend Iran arms embargo

Provision linked to 2015 nuclear agreement set to expire in October

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA— The UN Security Council on Friday resoundingly defeated a U.S. resolution to indefinitely extend the UN arms embargo on Iran, with the Trump administration getting support from only the Dominican Republic.

The vote in the 15-member council was two in favour, two against and 11 abstentions, leaving it far short of the minimum nine “yes” votes required for adoption. Russia and China opposed the resolution, but didn’t need to use their vetoes.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the defeat of the resolution ahead of a very brief virtual council meeting to reveal the vote.

He said Israel and the six Arab Gulf nations who supported the extension “know Iran will spread even greater chaos and destruction if the embargo expires, but the Security Council chose to ignore them.”

“The United States will never abandon our friends in the region who expected more from the Security Council,” Pompeo said in a statement. “We will continue to work to ensure that the theocratic terror regime does not have the freedom to purchase and sell weapons that threaten the heart of Europe, the Middle East and beyond.”

The Trump administration has said repeatedly it will not allow the arms embargo provision in the Security Council resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers to expire as scheduled Oct. 18.

President Donald Trump pulled out of the agreement in 2018 but the five remaining parties — Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — still support it.

The agreement is aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons and diplomats from several of the other countries that are party to it have expressed serious concern that extending the arms embargo would lead to Iran’s exit from the agreement, and in turn to fast-tracking its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

While voting on the U.S. draft resolution was underway, Russia said President Vladimir Putin called for a meeting of leaders of the five permanent members of the Security Council along with Germany and Iran to avoid escalation over U.S. attempts to extend the Iranian arms embargo.

In statement released by the Kremlin, Putin said “the question is urgent,” adding that the goal of the video conference would be “to outline steps to avoid confrontation and exacerbation of the situation in the UN Security Council.”