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U.S. Plans to Force Extension of Arms Embargo Against Iran

(New York Times) David E. Sanger - The U.S. has begun to circulate a new resolution in the Security Council that would bar countries from exporting conventional arms to Iran after the current ban expires in October. In an effort to force the issue, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has approved a plan under which the U.S. would, in essence, claim it legally remains a "participant state" in the nuclear accord. The U.S. would then exercise its right to invoke a "snapback" that would restore the UN sanctions on Iran on oil sales and banking that were in place before the accord, on the grounds that Iran is violating the agreement because it is now producing nuclear fuel above the limits in the accord. Asked about this strategy, Pompeo told the New York Times: "We cannot allow the Islamic Republic of Iran to purchase conventional weapons in six months....We are prepared to exercise all of our diplomatic options to ensure the arms embargo stays in place at the UN Security Council." Pompeo's aides point to a speech by President Barack Obama in August 2015 in which he warned that if Iran did not comply with the agreement, "we won't need the support of other members of the UN Security Council: America can trigger snapback on our own."
2020-04-30 00:00:00
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