Iran accused of proliferating weapons, GCC urges UNSC to extend arms embargo

The Gulf Cooperation Council, in a letter to the United Nations Security Council, is reported to have called for an extension of the arms embargo on Iran. The order has kept Iran from purchasing foreign-made weapons like fighter jest, tanks, and warships.

As per reports, the GCC urged the UNSC to extend the embargo and further impose any additional measures necessary to prevent the destabilising proliferation of Iranian weapons, such as targeted asset freeze, and travel ban on individuals involved in the supply, sale or transfer of arms or related material to or from Iran.

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The council, comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, has alleged that Iran had not ceased or desisted from armed interventions in neighbouring countries, directly and through organisations and movements armed and trained by Iran.

According to international media reports, the group said that Iran has continued to proliferate weapons across the region as an integral part of its expansionist regional policy and longstanding interference in the internal affairs of Arab states. 

The UN blocked Iran from replacing its ageing equipment, much of which had been purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran was banned from buying foreign weapons amid tensions over its nuclear program. According to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, the UN had agreed to end the arms embargo this October. 

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US seeks support to extend arms embargo 

As per reports, GCC’s letter comes as it remains torn by the ongoing Qatar crisis, which saw Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates cut diplomatic ties and launch a boycott of the nation beginning in 2017. Kuwait, on the other hand, sought to mediate the crisis, however, its 91-year-old emir was recently hospitalised in the US suffering from an undisclosed ailment. 

Moreover, the GCC letter also comes weeks after Brian Hook, the US envoy for Iran, said that the Arab nations unity on the issue sends a very strong message to the world and the UNSC needs to listen to the region. The United States has been seeking to garner more outside support to extend the arms embargo, as per reports. US is also set to introduce a resolution at the Security Council as soon as August 10 to extend the Iran arms embargo. 

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