US ‘Hopeful’ UN Will Extend Iran Arms Embargo
The United States is “hopeful” the UN Security Council will extend an arms embargo on Iran before it expires in October, a top US State Department envoy said on Thursday, despite a key Russian official signaling that Moscow opposed such a move.
Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran, said the United States had drafted a Security Council resolution on the issue, which would need nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, Britain or France to pass.
Some diplomats say the United States would likely struggle to get Iranian allies Russia and China to allow an arms embargo extension. But Hook repeatedly disagreed during a news conference, saying: “We are hopeful.”
“Russia and China have great equities in a peaceful and stable Middle East, and Iran’s sectarian violence and its export of weapons is the principal driver of instability in the Middle East today,” Hook said.
He also suggested that Washington did not plan to move ahead quickly with its push for the arms embargo extension.
Read More: Algemeiner