The United States and coalition partners seized a boat in June transporting Iranian weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen, announced U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday, reiterating his call for the U.N. Security Council to extend its arms embargo on Iran.
The weaponry included 200 rocket-propelled grenades, more than 1,700 AK rifles, 21 surface-to-air and land-attack missiles, several anti-tank missiles, “and other advanced weapons and missiles,” said Pompeo at a U.S. State Department press briefing.
“The Security Council must extend the arms embargo on Iran to prevent further conflict in the region,” said Pompeo. “No serious person can possibly believe Iran will use any weapon it receives for peaceful ends.”
The 2010 embargo is scheduled to expire on Oct. 18. Pompeo has called for the embargo to be extended indefinitely.
“Iran is not abiding by the U.N. arms embargo that is due to expire in less than four months now,” he said.
Russia and China, which, like the United States, are permanent veto members of the U.N. Security Council, have said they would veto any resolution extending the U.N. arms embargo on Iran. In response, the United States has threatened to activate snapback sanctions, which were lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The Trump administration withdrew from the deal in May 2018, reimposing sanctions lifted under it, along with enacting new penalties against the regime in what the administration has called a “maximum pressure” campaign.
Snapback sanctions would include extending the arms embargo indefinitely.
