Pompeo Urges UN to Extend Iran Arms Embargo

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on the UN Security Council to extend a conventional arms embargo on Iran that is scheduled to be lifted in October in accordance with stipulations in the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal. “The world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and anti-Semitism should not be allowed to buy and sell conventional weapons,” Pompeo said in a statement this weekend. He made his appeal after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) last Wednesday claimed to have successfully launched a military satellite into orbit. The move raised fears that so-called “dual-use” technologies required to send a satellite into space could also be applied to develop ballistic missiles, a primary delivery mechanism for nuclear warheads. “All peace-loving nations must … join together to constrain Iran’s dangerous missile programs,” the top American diplomat added. It comes amid renewed tensions between Washington and Tehran, which escalated last week when the Pentagon accused the IRGC of harassing US naval vessels in the Gulf. President Donald Trump in May 2018 withdrew Washington from the accord and reimposed economic sanctions on the mullah regime.