GCC calls for extension of UN arms embargo on Iran
SECURITY COUNCIL ALSO URGED TO IMPOSE ANY ADDITIONAL MEASURES
The Gulf Cooperation Council called for the United Nations Security Council to extend an arms embargo against Iran, an effort that dovetails with US efforts to persuade Russia and China not to veto a resolution the Trump administration plans to introduce.
In a letter to the Security Council sent on Saturday and obtained by Bloomberg News, the GCC called on the Security Council to extend the embargo and “further impose any additional measures necessary to prevent the destabilising proliferation of Iranian weapons, such as a targeted asset freeze and travel ban on individuals involved in the supply, sale or transfer of arms or related materiel to or from Iran.”
Iran “has continued to proliferate weapons across the region as an integral part of its expansionist regional policy and longstanding interference in the internal affairs of Arab States, including GCC member states, in clear violation of the UN Charter,” the group wrote. It was sent by GCC Secretary General Nayef Falah Mubarak Al Hajraf.
Weeks of US diplomacy
GCC members agreed to the letter after weeks of shuttle diplomacy by Brian Hook, the US envoy for Iran, as the US seeks to garner more outside support to extend the arms embargo, which expires in October. The US is set to introduce a resolution at the Security Council as soon as today to extend the embargo. Russia and China have indicated they will oppose it, and as permanent members of the council their vetoes would sink the initiative.
“GCC unity on this issue sends a very strong message to the world, and the Security Council needs to listen to the region,” Hook said in an emailed statement.