Security Council to Vote on American Resolution Today
Iran Envoy Warns UN to Resist U.S. Bullying
UNITED NATIONS (Dispatches) -- Iran’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations said Monday the Security Council must resist bullying efforts by the United States that aims to extend an arms embargo on the Islamic Republic.
The UN Security Council is about to vote on a Washington-drafted resolution, which aims to extend the UN arms embargo against Iran, on Tuesday. The embargo is set to expire this October under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
UN diplomats have said opposition to the U.S.-drafted resolution is so widespread that Washington is unlikely to secure the nine votes required at the 15-member Security Council to force Russia and China to use their vetoes.
Iran’s envoy said the U.S. is resorting to Iranophobic schemes to advance its resolution through the council.
"At the #UNSC, the US is actively resorting to Iran-phobia & coercion to gain support for its unlawful anti-2231 resolution, illegally seeking to extend an arms embargo on Iran,” read part of the tweet.
"The Council must reject bullying & unilateralism—again—as it did when US first introduced its draft,” it added.
Under the JCPOA, the restrictions imposed on Iran’s purchase and sale of arms should be lifted in October.
Iran says it will take effective measures if Europeans cave in to the U.S. pressure on extending an arms embargo against Tehran.
If the resolution fails — which experts say is the most likely scenario — the Trump administration has threatened to invoke snapback
The UN Security Council is about to vote on a Washington-drafted resolution, which aims to extend the UN arms embargo against Iran, on Tuesday. The embargo is set to expire this October under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
UN diplomats have said opposition to the U.S.-drafted resolution is so widespread that Washington is unlikely to secure the nine votes required at the 15-member Security Council to force Russia and China to use their vetoes.
Iran’s envoy said the U.S. is resorting to Iranophobic schemes to advance its resolution through the council.
"At the #UNSC, the US is actively resorting to Iran-phobia & coercion to gain support for its unlawful anti-2231 resolution, illegally seeking to extend an arms embargo on Iran,” read part of the tweet.
"The Council must reject bullying & unilateralism—again—as it did when US first introduced its draft,” it added.
Under the JCPOA, the restrictions imposed on Iran’s purchase and sale of arms should be lifted in October.
Iran says it will take effective measures if Europeans cave in to the U.S. pressure on extending an arms embargo against Tehran.
If the resolution fails — which experts say is the most likely scenario — the Trump administration has threatened to invoke snapback
sanctions, which supporters of the Iran nuclear deal fear will be the agreement’s death knell.
The gambit also risks further alienating the United States from its allies, which continue to support the JCPOA and have rebuffed the Trump administration’s so-called maximum pressure campaign against Tehran, U.S. news website The Hill said.
"The Trump administration knows that the arms embargo isn’t going to get renewed and, more than anything, this is a driver for them to try to invoke snapback and destroy what’s left of the JCPOA,” said Ilan Goldenberg, senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security.
The gambit also risks further alienating the United States from its allies, which continue to support the JCPOA and have rebuffed the Trump administration’s so-called maximum pressure campaign against Tehran, U.S. news website The Hill said.
"The Trump administration knows that the arms embargo isn’t going to get renewed and, more than anything, this is a driver for them to try to invoke snapback and destroy what’s left of the JCPOA,” said Ilan Goldenberg, senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security.