Saudi, US call for extension of UN arms embargo on Iran

Officials from Saudi Arabian and the US have called on the international community to extend a UN arms embargo on Iran, warning that the expiry would allow Tehran to destabilize the region. Saudi news

Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir and US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook held a joint press conference, where weapons, including drones and missiles, which were used in recent Houthi attacks on Saudi cities, were displayed, reports Xinhua news agency.

Al-Jubeir said that Saudi Arabia is consulting with all the countries on the UN Security Council on the dangers of letting the arms embargo on Iran expire.

Hook warned if the UN arms embargo against Iran is lifted, Tehran will be able to further develop its military capabilities and acquire new sensitive technologies and re-export to its proxies in the region.

“The weapons that we see here today are all the evidence we need that the arms embargo on Iran must not be lifted,” Hook added, highlighting that Iran will never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

Hook arrived in Riyadh after his visit to the United Arab Emirates where he discussed extending the UN arms embargo on Iran, which will expire on October 18.

The development comes after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month that Washington was considering “every possibility” to renew the ban on selling conventional arms to Iran

In response, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had said that his country would not accept the renewal of the arms ban “under any circumstance”.