The United Nations Security Council on Friday rejected a US resolution to extend an arms embargo on Iran that is due to expire in October, AFP reported.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the decision, saying the Security Council “rejected a reasonable resolution to extend the 13-year old arms embargo on Iran and paved the way for the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism to buy and sell conventional weapons without specific UN restrictions in place for the first time in over a decade.”
"The Security Council's failure to act decisively in defense of international peace and security is inexcusable," he added.
The UN arms embargo on Iran is set to expire in October, and Pompeo had vowed to use all means available to extend it.
Before Friday’s vote, the US circulated a revised resolution, in a bid to gain more support in the 15-member Security Council, where veto-wielding Russia and China voiced strong opposition.
Britain, France and Germany have made clear they would not back US efforts to unilaterally trigger the reimposition of United Nations sanctions on Iran.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani this week expressed "great hopes" that the US bid to extend the arms embargo will fail, warning of consequences if the UN Security Council backs it.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)