Foreign Desk Report
NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council is due to hold a first round of talks on Wednesday on a U.S. proposal to indefinitely extend an arms embargo on Iran, which is currently set to end in October under Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
The US circulated a draft resolution on the measure to the 15-member council on Monday, diplomats said, but council veto-powers Russia and China have already signaled their opposition to the move. A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the US, China, Russia, Britain or France to pass. The U.S. draft would ban the sale, supply or transfer of arms or related materiel by Iran and prohibits countries from selling, supplying or transferring arms or related materiel unless approved by a Security Council committee.
