TLTP
\nNEW YORK
\nThe United Nations Security Council has resoundingly rejected a bid by the United States to extend a global arms embargo on Iran.
\nIn the Security Council vote on Friday, Washington got support only from the Dominican Republic for its resolution to indefinitely extend the embargo, leaving it far short of the minimum nine \u201cyes\u201d votes required for adoption. Eleven members on the 15-member body, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, abstained.
\nRussia and China strongly opposed extending the 13-year ban, which was due to expire on October 18 under a 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran and six world powers.
\nMike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, announced the defeat of the resolution ahead of a very brief virtual council meeting to reveal the vote.
\n\u201cThe Security Council\u2019s failure to act decisively in defense of international peace and security is inexcusable,\u201d he said in a statement. Israel and the six Arab Gulf nations who supported the extension \u201cknow Iran will spread even greater chaos and destruction if the embargo expires\u201d, Pompeo said, \u201cbut the Security Council chose to ignore them\u201d.
\nZhang Jun, China\u2019s ambassador to the UN, said in a statement that the result \u201conce again shows that unilateralism receives no support and bullying will fail\u201d.
\nWashington could now follow through on a threat to trigger a return of all UN sanctions on Iran using a provision in the nuclear deal, known as snapback, even though US President Donald Trump had unilaterally abandoned the accord in 2018. On Thursday, the US had circulated to council members a six-page memo outlining why Washington remains a participant in the nuclear accord and still has the right to use the snapback provision.
\nIn a statement after the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft said Washington has \u201cevery right to initiate\u201d the snapback mechanism, and added: \u201cIn the coming days, the United States will follow through on that promise to stop at nothing to extend the arms embargo.\u201d
\nIran\u2019s UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi warned Washington against trying to trigger a return of sanctions.
\n\u201cImposition of any sanctions or restrictions on Iran by the Security Council will be met severely by Iran and our options are not limited. And the United States and any entity which may assist it or acquiesce in its illegal behavior will bear the full responsibility,\u201d he said in a statement.
\nWhile voting on the US draft resolution was under way, Russia said its 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 US attempts to extend the Iranian arms embargo.
\nIn a statement released by the Kremlin, Putin said \u201cthe question is urgent\u201d, adding that the goal of the videoconference would be \u201cto outline steps to avoid confrontation and exacerbation of the situation in the UN Security Council\u201d.
\nFrench President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s office confirmed France\u2019s \u201cavailability in principle\u201d to Putin\u2019s proposal. \u201cWe have in the past deployed initiatives in the same spirit,\u201d it said.
\nJarret Blanc, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, called the US\u2019 failed bid a \u201cdiplomatic catastrophe\u201d. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TLTP NEW YORK The United Nations Security Council has resoundingly rejected a bid by the United States to extend a global arms embargo on Iran. In the Security Council vote on Friday, Washington got support only from the Dominican Republic for its resolution to indefinitely extend the embargo, leaving it far short of the minimum […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n