The United States lost its battle in the United Nations Security Council on Friday to block Iran from replenishing its weapons arsenal.
The Security Council rejected the US proposal to extend the conventional weapons embargo on the Islamic Republic, thus forcing the US to unilaterally trigger its own snap-back sanctions on Iran. Under the terms of the JCPOA nuclear deal signed by Iran with world powers in 2015, the conventional weapons ban is due to expire in October.
Only the Dominican Republic supported the extension of the embargo, which has run for 13 years; Russia and China were opposed, and Britain, France and Germany abstained – thus killing the proposal.
US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft said in a statement Friday the US “has every right to initiate snap-back of provisions of previous Security Council resolutions. . . In the coming days, the United States will follow through on that promise to stop at nothing to extend the arms embargo.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in responding to the debacle, “Iran’s aggression and terror threaten peace in the region and in the entire world. Instead of opposing the sale of weapons, the Security Council encourages it. We will continue to act in close cooperation with the US and countries in the region in order to stop the Iranian aggression. The State of Israel will continue to act with all its might against anyone who attempts to undermine its security.”
Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, also slammed the vote, calling the Security Council rejection of the embargo a “disgrace.” Erdan went on to point out, “Instead of allowing the murderous terror regime in Tehran to equip itself with lethal weapons, the Security Council should have placed paralyzing sanctions on it.
“The council has failed at its task of protecting peace and security, and its decision will lead to the erosion of stability in the Middle East and the entire world.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pointed out in his statement from Washington that the Security Council had “rejected 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 in place for the first time in over a decade.
“The Security Council’s failure to act decisively in defense of international peace and security is inexcusable,” he said.
“The United Nations Security Council is charged with the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. It failed today to uphold its fundamental mission set. The Security Council’s failure to act decisively in defense of international peace and security is inexcusable,” Pompeo said.
“The United States will never abandon our friends in the region who expected more from the Security Council. 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.”