The US urged the UN on Tuesday (August 20th) to extend an arms embargo on Tehran that is due to expire next year as part of the embattled Iran nuclear deal, AFP reported.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the UN Security Council that the clock was ticking on a resolution restricting weapons sales to Iran that is due to end in October 2020.
Pompeo warned that the expiration of provisions in UN Security Council Resolution 2231 would also see a travel ban on a key Iranian commander lifted.
"Time is drawing short to continue this activity of restricting Iran's capacity to foment its terror regime," he said.
"The international community will have plenty of time to see how long it has until Iran is unshackled to create new turmoil, and figure out what it must do to prevent that from happening," Pompeo added.
The resolution was passed as part of the Iran nuclear deal, which the US, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain agreed with Tehran in 2015. The US pulled out of the deal last year and reinstated economic sanctions.
When the resolution expires, travel restrictions on Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), and 23 other Iranians will be lifted.
"We believe that the UN Security Council has an important role to play to ensure that the arms embargo and the travel ban are continued," said US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook.
