Iran Warns of ‘Grave Consequences’ Over Arms Embargo Move

(Bloomberg) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned Europe, China and Russia of “grave consequences” if they buckle to a U.S. legal maneuver designed to renew a United Nations arms embargo on the Islamic Republic.

The Trump administration has recently begun to claim it remains a party to the multipower nuclear deal with Iran it renounced two years ago. The objective is to pressure the UN Security Council to extend the embargo due to expire in October or to force a snapback of all UN sanctions on Iran if council members don't agree.

European diplomats have quietly opposed the Trump administration's attempt to pick and choose which provisions of the deal to adopt.

U.S. Targets Expiring Iran Arms Embargo at Risk of Angry Allies

In comments shown on state TV, Rouhani said he'd written to the heads of state of the countries that remain in the 2015 accord and are permanent members of the Security Council.

“They know what grave consequences will follow if they make such a mistake. This will be a historic defeat for them,” Rouhani said, referring to China, Russia, France, the U.K. and the European Union, which have struggled to keep the deal from collapsing entirely after the U.S. started reimposing sanctions on Iran in 2018.

“The U.S. and some other countries need to know that Iran will not accept a violation of UN resolution 2231 under any circumstances,” Rouhani said.

The resolution enshrines the nuclear accord and stipulates that the arms ban on Iran will expire on Oct. 18.

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