The UN Security Council is preparing to vote on a revised US draft resolution to extend the arms embargo on Iran indefinitely, and at a time when the project is facing strong opposition from Russia and China, Tehran has warned that extending the embargo means denying the nuclear deal.
The Associated Press said that the Security Council may vote on Friday on the revised draft resolution distributed by Washington on Tuesday in the Security Council.
The agency suggested that Russia and China would use the right of veto (veto) to drop the draft resolution that the United States had to amend to reduce its intensity, in an effort to garner the support of the largest number of the 15 member states of the Security Council.
It also suggested that this project would not receive the support of nine member states, which is the required quorum for a decision in the event that no member state uses the right of veto.
And diplomatic sources told Al-Jazeera that the United States distributed an amended draft resolution in the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo on Iran, a few weeks before the end of the current ban on October 18, according to the nuclear agreement signed between Iran and six world powers in 2015.
The sources stated that the amended draft removed paragraphs from the first version that was proposed, including imposing legal obligations on countries to prevent arms sales to Iran and inspecting Iranian ships.
Washington said it would reimpose all UN sanctions on Iran if it failed to convince the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo.
On the other hand, Tehran confirmed that it would continue to develop its military arsenal even if the ban imposed on it was extended.
Iranian warning
During a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, President Hassan Rouhani called for the lifting of arms sanctions on his country, and said that any US measure to extend the sanctions violated the nuclear agreement.
The Iranian presidency said that Rouhani told Macron that European countries should prevent opponents of the nuclear deal from achieving their goals.
The Iranian president also said that his country believes that Washington will fail once again to pass the draft resolution, warning of its repercussions if it passes.
As for the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, he described the revised US version of the draft resolution as completely illegal, and expressed his confidence that the Security Council would reject it.
For its part, the French presidency said that Macron asked Iran to make some signals to avoid an increase in tension, and expressed his desire to preserve the nuclear agreement with Iran and move to calm in the region.
Diplomats and analysts described the previous US draft of the draft resolution as strict, as it obliges countries to inspect shipments coming from and heading to Iran, and it also included an annex with sanctions targeting individuals and entities.
In previous statements, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that not extending the arms embargo on Iran, which prevents it from buying planes, warships, tanks and other military equipment from abroad, will make it an arms dealer for those he described as terrorists and rogue states.