U.S. Gets Humiliating Response at UN Over Iran Arms Ban

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

TEHRAN – Iran has hailed the UN Security Council’s rejection of unilateralism following the US failure to get the world body to extend a UN arms embargo on Iran.

Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht Ravanchi said all countries, especially members of the UN Security Council, are duty-bound to make every effort to uphold values, objectives and principles stipulated in the UN Charter.

The Security Council on Friday gave a “No” vote to a U.S.-drafted anti-Iran resolution.

“Appeasement has never served the common interests of humanity; on the contrary, it has only emboldened bullies,” he said.

“We are beholden to ourselves and the future generation, which will have to live with the consequences of our actions or inaction,” he said.

His comments came after the Security Council rejected the U.S. resolution to extend an arms embargo on Iran that is due to expire in October.

Only one member state voted in favor of the U.S. resolution, and all other members either rejected the resolution or abstained from voting.

Most international media claimed the U.S. has suffered a humiliating defeat at the United Nations as its proposal to extend a global arms embargo on Iran was resoundingly rejected by the member states with only one country supporting it.

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 nine “yes” votes required for adoption.

Eleven members on the 15-member body, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, abstained.

Russia 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.

The scale of the defeat on Friday underlined U.S. isolation on the world stage ahead of a major diplomatic confrontation that threatens to consume the Security Council and further sap its authority.

In his response to the vote, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, lashed out at other member states.

“The Security Council’s failure to act decisively in defense of international peace and security is inexcusable,” he said in a statement issued even before the result of the vote had been declared.

Zhang Jun, China’s ambassador to the UN, said in a statement that the result “once again shows that unilateralism receives no support and bullying will fail”.

Washington 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 U.S. 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.

In a statement after the vote, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft said Washington has “every right to initiate” the snapback mechanism, and added: “In the coming days, the United States will follow through on that promise to stop at nothing to extend the arms embargo.”