Israel Blasts UNSC for Dropping Tehran Arms Embargo

Israel says the decision by the United Nations Security Council to let an arms embargo against Iran lapse will cause further regional upheaval. In a statement issued on Saturday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said: “The extremist regime in Iran doesn’t just finance terrorism: It takes an active part in terrorism through its branches around the world and uses it as a political tool. This behavior represents a danger to regional and international stability.” The Security Council let the embargo lapse as part of a sunset clause built into a 2015 international agreement aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The US, a signatory that withdrew in 2018 saying the deal was not strict enough, unsuccessfully lobbied fellow council members to extend the embargo, which is now due to end in October. “The Security Council’s failure to act decisively in defense of international peace and security is inexcusable,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in reaction. Also on Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Washington had been humiliated. “I don’t remember the United States preparing a resolution for months to strike a blow at the Islamic Republic of Iran, and it garners only one vote!” Rouhani said in a speech carried live on state television. “But the great success was that the United States was defeated in this conspiracy with humiliation.”