TEHRAN — Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, said on Thursday that the U.S. draft resolution on extending the United Nations’ arms embargo on Iran has no chance of succeeding.

“This resolution has very sad prospects. I mean, they just do not exist,” Nebenzia said in an open online interview, Sputnik News reported.

He said Russia told the U.S. as soon as the latter started working on the resolution that it has “absolutely no chance of being adopted.”

“The adoption of such a resolution would put an end to the JCPOA. It is clear that Iran will never accept that, and it has the right to do so,” Nebenzia added.

“The adoption of such a resolution (to extend arms embargo) would put an end to the JCPOA. It is clear that Iran will never accept that, and it has the right to do so,” says Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzia.

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 Donald 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.

Russia warned earlier this month that the extension of the embargo will jeopardize efforts to preserve the nuclear deal.

“The United States’ push was not only unjustified but also counterproductive in terms of the prospects of preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on July 2.

In a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council circulated on June 8, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the Trump administration of unleashing a politically motivated campaign against Iran and called for “universal condemnation” of the U.S. attempts.

The Russian foreign minister said the United States withdrew from the nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers and now has no legal right to try to use the UN resolution endorsing the deal to indefinitely continue the arms embargo.

MH/PA