Pompeo: Iran will not buy arms as UN embargo ends

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that the United States will not allow Iran to purchase conventional arms after a U.N. embargo on this expires in October.

"We're not going to let that happen," Pompeo told reporters at a press briefing. "We will work with the U.N. Security Council to extend that prohibition on those arms sales and then in the event we can't get anyone else to act

The secretary said the U.S. efforts would include working through a nuclear accord that President Donald Trump condemned, saying "the United States is evaluating every possibility about how we might do that, Pompeo said.

Pompeo also during the news briefing says the U.S. will determine China's role in the loss of "tens of thousands of American lives and enormous amounts of wealth" caused by the coronavirus.

Pompeo said the U.S. will demand answers until "the transparency it needs to make sure that those who are conducting scientific research on complex viruses and pathogens are doing so in a way that doesn't create the risk that we get"

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.