US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft and US Special Representative for Iran and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State Brian Hook virtually briefed the UN Security Council on a proposed resolution to extend the arms embargo on Iran. The conventional arms restrictions under the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 are set o expire on Oct. 18, the office of the spokesperson of the Department of State said in a press release on Wednesday. Special Representative Hook noted that the Security Council should be united over its concern with Iranian arms transfers, and that it has maintained arms restrictions on Iran since 2007. He updated the Security Council members on the full range of Iran's malign activities, including its September 2019 direct attack on Saudi Arabia's sovereignty, according to the statement. Given that Iran has neither abided by current restrictions nor demonstrated a change in its threatening behavior, Special Representative Hook and Ambassador Craft called on the Security Council members to extend the arms embargo, it added. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, Special Representative Hook is briefing the members of the UN Security Council on our diplomacy to prevent the arms embargo from expiring on Iran in October of this year. "Without action, on the 18th of that month, Iran will be able to purchase advanced weapon systems and become the arms dealer of choice for terrorists and rogue regimes all throughout the world. This is unacceptable," he stressed. "Iran has been under arms restrictions by the United Nations since back in 2007. And one of the greatest failures of the Iran nuclear deal was to allow these restrictions to expire without regard to how the regime behaved. "The resolution that we will present to the UN Security Council would extend the conventional arms embargo on the leading state sponsor of terror. Our focus now is to work with the Security Council to pass this resolution." "The legal options in the Security Council are clear. Out great preference is to have a Security Council resolution that would extend the arms embargo, but we are determined to ensure that the arms embargo continues," he added. Since December 2006, Iran has been under UN sanctions pursuant to the UNSC Resolution 1737 due to failure to halt its uranium enrichment program. — KUNA
