Iran Threatens to Trash Nuke Deal if Arms Embargo Extended

Iran has answered new American initiatives to extend the international embargo on selling conventional arms to the Islamic Republic when they expire in October. On Sunday, Ali Shamknahi, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said via Twitter that if the embargo is extended it will be the permanent end of the 2015 nuclear deal. Tweeting that the pact will “die forever,” the Iranian apparently kicked the ball into the European Union’s courts, asking what the EU would do in such a case. The nuclear pact, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was agreed to by China, the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Russia, but the US withdrew when Donald Trump took office as president. The Iranians are livid at what they see as improper involvement by the US since it renounced the agreement. But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cites the American interpretation of the enabling resolution as allowing for Washington to “remain a participant,” meaning it can extend the arms embargo or even add new conditions.