TEHRAN – Iran’s embassy in London said in a tweet on Thursday that the United States’ government has failed to garner support for extending arms embargo on Iran at the UN Security Council.

“Another failure for the US maximum pressure policy against Iran: the US government has failed to garner support for extending Iran’s arms embargo in the UN Security Council. After the US Secretary of State, Brian Hook also left London empty-handed,” says the tweet.

Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, was in London on Wednesday to meet Foreign Office officials as part of his attempt to drum up support for the U.S. policy of extending the arms embargo.

The United States has stepped up calls for an extension of UN arms embargo on Iran since April. The arms embargo on Iran is set to expire in October.

Under the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal, arms embargo against Iran expires in October.

On June 30, the U.S. was rebuked at the UN Security Council meeting, including by the five European countries on the council. 

Russia’s Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia slammed the U.S. for pursuing a “maximum suffocation” foreign policy against Iran, saying Washington’s goal was to “achieve regime change or create a situation where Iran literally wouldn’t be able to breathe”.

“This is like putting a knee to one’s neck,” said Nebenzia, in a veiled reference to the death of black man George Floyd in Minneapolis after a white police officer knelt on his neck. 

China also voiced opposition to the anti-Iran move, urging Washington “to stop its illegal unilateral sanctions” on Iran.

In a statement to the UN Security Council, Zhang Jun, China’s permanent UN representative, said the root cause of the current crisis is the U.S withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and the reimposition of unilateral sanctions against Iran, Xinhua reported.

“This has again undermined the joint efforts to preserve the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action],” Zhang said, referring to U.S. efforts to extend the arms embargo.

“We urge the U.S. to stop its illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, and return to the right track of observing the JCPOA and Resolution 2231 [of the UNSC],” he said.

NA/PA