TEHRAN — The United States has circulated a new resolution to the UN Security Council members, calling for an extension of the UN arms embargo on Iran.

Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that it had obtained a copy of the text, which asks UN member states to stop all sales of weapons to and from Iran.

It also asks UN member states to refrain from providing any “technical training, financial resources or services, advice, other services or assistance related to the supply, sale, transfer, manufacture, maintenance, or use of arms” to Iran.

According to Bloomberg News, the new resolution is almost identical to one the U.S. circulated in June, signaling the Trump administration is unwilling to make changes suggested by allies and opponents on the Security Council.

U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft acknowledged on Tuesday that Russia and China are likely to veto any resolution. The U.S. has threatened to invoke a “snapback” provision in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to reimpose all UN sanctions against Tehran. The U.S. claims it can do that even though President Donald Trump quit the multinational accord in 2018.

“The strategy in a perfect world will always be to have them abstain and obviously not veto” the U.S. resolution, Craft said of Russia and China in an online appearance at the annual Aspen Security Forum.

“However, let’s be realistic here. Right now the strategy is working with other members of the Security Council” to put China and Russia “in a corner and shine a light on them.”

The United States has stepped up calls for the extension of the UN arms embargo on Iran since April.

In June, the United States introduced a draft resolution at the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo on Iran before it expires in mid-October. Russia and China have already voiced their opposition to the draft resolution.

In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the U.S., and the European Union. 

The JCPOA required Iran to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions removal, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the deal's adoption. In 2018, the U.S. pulled out of the JCPOA and reinstated harsh sanctions on Tehran.

The Trump administration has threatened that it may seek to trigger a snapback of all sanctions on Iran if its attempts to extend the arms embargo fail.

Last month, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Iran has told all members of the UN Security Council and its friends that the extension of the arms embargo would be “unacceptable”.

The spokesman said Iranian officials do not think other countries would succumb to the U.S. bullying.

“We hope the U.S. pressure ends,” he said, adding, “Iran is striving to secure its right.”

MH/PA