Russia Pledges to Block Western Efforts to Embargo Iran Through the United Nations

Amid ongoing U.S.-led efforts to impose penalties on Iran through the United Nations Security Council, which include reimposition of an arms embargo set to expire in October 2020 and possibly reimposition of economic sanctions, Russia has pledged to block these efforts. The statement to this effect came from ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia, and follows moves by the U.S. to circulate a draft resolution calling for an indefinite extension of the arms embargo on Tehran. The lifting of the arms embargo and of UN sanctions was agreed to under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal, under which the embargo would expire five years after the deal went into effect. The United States for its part is no longer party to the JCPOA after unilaterally withdrawing in 2018 and subsequently imposing harsh economic sanctions.

With Iran’s actions considered by the majority of experts to be consistent with international law, there remains little pretext for non-Western parties to support Western efforts to impose an arms embargo on the country. While Iran has relaxed restrictions on its nuclear activates, it has done so in response to American violations of the agreement through its imposition of sanctions, and announced these steps before commencing with them. Imposing both an embargo and a ban on ballistic missile development as Western parties have repeatedly sought to do would ensure a favourable balance of power for both Western parties and their regional partners such as Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which dwarf the Iranian defence budget with their own considerable expenditures. Russia for its part has a great deal to gain from supporting the Iranian position in regards to the lifting of the arms embargo, as not only will empowering a major Western adversary further stretch the resources of the Western Bloc, but Russia itself stands to earn billions from arms sales to the Islamic Republic for which it is a primary supplier alongside China and North Korea.