United Nations \u2013 U. S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the U. N. Security Council on Wednesday\u2026<\/b>
\nUnited Nations \u2013 U. S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the U. N. Security Council on Wednesday to again ban Iranian ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and to maintain an arms embargo that is scheduled to be lifted in 2020 under the landmark Iran nuclear deal.
He also urged the council to prevent Iran from circumventing existing arms restrictions by authorizing the inspection of ships in ports and stopping them on the high seas.
Pompeo spoke at a Security Council meeting on Iran\u2019s compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement that the Trump administration pulled out of earlier this year, and the council resolution endorsing it.
He was critical of the council for weakening the ban on nuclear-capable Iranian missiles that was in effect from 2010 to 2015. The resolution adopted in 2015 to endorse the nuclear deal \u201ccalls upon\u201d \u2013 but does not require \u2013 Iran to halt such activity, and it also supports lifting the arms embargo in 2020.
Pompeo accused Iran of building the largest ballistic missile force in the region, one capable of threatening the Mideast and Europe, saying it has more than 10 ballistic missile systems in its inventory or in development. He quoting the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard\u2019s airspace division, Amir Ali Hajzadeh, boasting Monday that Iran is capable of building missiles with a range beyond 1,200 miles.
\u201cIran has exploited the goodwill of nations and defied multiple Security Council resolutions in its quest for a robust ballistic missile force,\u201d Pompeo said. \u201cThe United States will never stand for this. No nation that seeks peace and prosperity in the Middle East should either.\u201d
But the United States faces an uphill struggle in getting Security Council approval for Pompeo\u2019s proposals, especially following U. S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, which is still supported by the five other parties \u2013 Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. And the Trump administration\u2019s re-imposition in November of sanctions against Iran that it had eased under the nuclear deal has also angered some key council members.
Before the council meeting, eight European Union nations underlined their commitment to the Iran nuclear deal while urging Tehran to stop its \u201cdestabilizing regional activities\u201d especially the launch of ballistic missiles.
Ambassadors of the eight nations \u2013 Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom \u2013 said \u201cit has been confirmed that Iran continues to implement its nuclear related commitments.\u201d
But they warned that \u201cballistic missile related activities such as the launch of nuclear capable missiles and any transfers of missiles, missile technologies and components\u2026 would be in violation of Security Council resolutions.\u201d<\/p>\n