The United States of America tried its best for the extension of an arms embargo against Iran that is due to expire in October but its resolution was rejected by Russia and China in the UN Security Council while countries such as Britain, France and Germany abstained from voting in a move seen as a veiled rejection.

Even though the UN arms embargo on selling and buying weapons from Iran has been in place for the last 13 years, we have witnessed its rampant violations with arms reaching Iran’s militias, and therefore, the lifting of the embargo will increase its ability to destroy. Iran will not be forced to smuggle weapons, but rather it will buy them openly and thus expose the Arab region in particular to more killings and displacement.

Despite the full awareness that Iran is the most dangerous country and a threat to global stability, even exceeding the level of danger posed by North Korea, the UN decision would encourage it to convert several Arab countries to failed states, and directly cause the influx of immigrants in Europe. It would liquidate opponents of the regime living in European territories, in addition to involving in more drug trafficking and money laundering.

European “pragmatism” transcended all these for the sake of serving their interests. However, the US administration did not sit idly because of this abandonment of its allies, which also suggests a divergence of the political vision toward the risks from the part of the NATO bloc.

US announced the rapid activation of the snapback provision of previous Security Council resolutions, based on the UN Resolution 2231 adopted by the Security Council following the signing of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

The nuclear deal provides for the lifting of sanctions but continues to prohibit the purchase and sale of conventional weapons or dual-use materials such as missiles and combat aircraft, that could be used in a nuclear attack.

The US snapback decision came as the culmination of US efforts since its withdrawal from the nuclear agreement in 2018. After the pullout of the deal, the US launched a campaign to exert maximum pressure on the Iranian economy so as to force the regime to sit across the negotiating table and agree to a more comprehensive nuclear deal than the defective one signed by the Barack Obama administration.

Iran has embarked on the adventure of “strategic patience” as President Rohani calls it, relying heavily on Trump’s departure. The huge devaluation of the Iranian currency during 2020 following the coronavirus crisis and the decline in global demand for oil made it drop from 17,000 against the US dollar, to a new low of about 240,000 against the dollar.

This indicates a looming major economic slowdown that does not make the non-passage of the arms embargo resolution a victory that will feed the Iranians.

— The author is a Saudi political analyst and media Consultant, he can be reached atme@aaltrairi.com and on Twitter @aAltrairi