Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Why COVID Is Spreading Again This Summer

12 hours ago

Amid Threats From Trump, Sen. Adam Schiff Forms Legal Defense Fund

16 hours ago

Israel to Place $500 Million, US-Funded Order for Boeing Aerial Refueling Tankers

17 hours ago

Hurricane Erin Threatens North Carolina’s Outer Banks With Storm Surge

17 hours ago

Israel Approves Settlement Plan to ‘Erase’ Idea of Palestinian State

17 hours ago

Tech Stocks Pressure Wall Street as Caution Sets in Ahead of Fed Meet

17 hours ago

Most Americans Believe Countries Should Recognize Palestinian State, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

17 hours ago

Gabbard Revokes Security Clearances of 37 Current, Former US Intelligence Members

1 day ago

Trump Escalates Attacks Against the Smithsonian Institution

2 days ago

California Republicans File Suit Seeking to Block Newsom Redistricting Plan

2 days ago
AP Interview: US Envoy Calls for Iran Arms Embargo Renewal
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
July 1, 2020

Share

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An expiring United Nations weapons embargo on Iran must remain in place to prevent it from “becoming the arms dealer of choice for rogue regimes and terrorist organizations around the world,” the U.S. special representative to Iran said Sunday.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Hook’s remarks. However, President Hassan Rouhani described 2020 as Iran’s “most difficult year” on Sunday due to the U.S. economic pressure campaign and the coronavirus pandemic.
Brian Hook told The Associated Press that the world should ignore Iran’s threats to retaliate if the arms embargo set to expire in October is extended, calling it a “mafia tactic.” Among its options, the Islamic Republic could expel international inspectors monitoring Iran’s nuclear program, deepening a crisis created by President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrawing from Tehran’s 2015 atomic accord with global powers.
The U.N. arms embargo so far has stopped Iran from purchasing fighter jets, tanks, warships and other weaponry, but has failed to halt its smuggling of weapons into war zones. Despite that, Hook argued both an import and export ban on Tehran must remain in place to secure the wider Mideast.
“If we let it expire, you can be certain that what Iran has been doing in the dark, it will do in broad daylight and then some,” Hook said.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Hook’s remarks. However, President Hassan Rouhani described 2020 as Iran’s “most difficult year” on Sunday due to the U.S. economic pressure campaign and the coronavirus pandemic.
Hook made the comments while on a visit to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the U.S.-allied United Arab Emirates, as part of a Mideast tour. Hook met Saturday with Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and planned Sunday to meet with other officials. Hook declined to say where else he would travel on his trip.
Hook spoke to AP journalists in Dubai via videoconference as Abu Dhabi’s borders remain closed to the UAE’s six other sheikhdoms over the pandemic.
This combination of the Saturday, June 27, 2020, right, and Wednesday, June 10, 2020, left, satellite images from Planet Labs shows the site of an explosion that rattled Iran’s capital. Analysts say the blast Friday, June 26, 2020, came from an area in Tehran’s eastern mountains they hides a underground tunnel system and missile production sites. The explosion appears to have charred hundreds of meters of scrubland. (Planet Labs via AP)

Iran Long Has Been Outmatched by U.S.-Backed Gulf Nations Like the UAE

The United Nations banned Iran from buying major foreign weapon systems in 2010 amid tensions over its nuclear program. That blocked Iran from replacing its aging equipment, much of which had been purchased by the shah before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. An earlier embargo targeted Iranian arms exports.
If the embargo is lifted, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency predicted in 2019 that Iran likely would try to purchase Russian Su-30 fighter jets, Yak-130 trainer aircraft and T-90 tanks. Tehran also may try to buy Russia’s S-400 anti-aircraft missile system and its Bastian coastal defense missile system, the DIA said.
Iran long has been outmatched by U.S.-backed Gulf nations like the UAE, which have purchased billions of dollars of advanced American weaponry. In response, Tehran turned toward developing ballistic missiles as a deterrent. Hook declined to discuss an explosion Friday in Iran near an area analysts believe hides an underground tunnel system and missile production sites.
Being able to pay for new, foreign weapons systems, however, remains in question. U.S. sanctions imposed after Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal have crushed Iran’s oil sales, a major source of revenue. Energy prices have also collapsed amid the pandemic.
Asked about how Iran would pay for the new weapons, Hook said Tehran’s lowered revenues represented “a good thing for the region” and affected its ability to back its regional proxies, like Syria.
“We have put this regime through our strategy on the horns of a dilemma,” Hook said. “They have to choose between guns in Damascus or butter in Tehran.”

Since Trump’s Withdrawal From the Nuclear Deal, Iran Has Broken All the Accord’s Production Limits

That financial pressure has led to sporadic anti-government protests in Iran, including nationwide demonstrations in November that Amnesty International says saw over 300 people killed. While the Trump administration has maintained it doesn’t seek to overthrow Iran’s government, its pressure campaign has exacerbated public anger against its Shiite theocracy.

Since Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iran has broken all the accord’s production limits. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Iranian nuclear activity as part of the deal, says Tehran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium continues to grow.
Since Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iran has broken all the accord’s production limits. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Iranian nuclear activity as part of the deal, says Tehran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium continues to grow.
While not at weapons-grade levels, the growing stockpile and increased production shortens the one-year timeline analysts believe Iran would need to have enough material for a nuclear weapon if it chose to pursue one. Iran long has denied seeking atomic bombs, though the IAEA previously said Iran had done work in “support of a possible military dimension to its nuclear program” that largely halted in late 2003.
Iran has threatened to expel IAEA inspectors and withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty amid the U.S. pressure campaign. North Korea, which now has nuclear weapons, is the only country to ever withdraw from the treaty.
“If we play by Iran’s rules, Iran wins,” Hook said. “It is a mafia tactic where people are intimidated into accepting a certain kind of behavior for fear of something far worse.”
Hook maintained that the U.N.’s ban on Iran exporting weapons abroad also needed to remain in place, even though it has not prevented Tehran from smuggling arms. Iranian arms in particular have turned up in Yemen, where Tehran-backed Houthi rebels fight a Saudi-led coalition.
“I don’t think anyone believes that Iran’s behavior merits loosening restrictions on their ability to move weapons,” Hook said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

International Rapper Derrick ‘Aesop’ McElroy Who Called Fresno Home Dies at 51

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration to Vet Immigration Applications for ‘Anti-Americanism’

DON'T MISS

Texas Republicans Approve Trump-Backed Congressional Map to Protect Party’s Majority

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Seek Suspect in Casino Assault

DON'T MISS

Poll: California Dems Favor Newsom Over Harris in 2028 Matchup

DON'T MISS

‘Moral Conflict’ Drives Dem Doubts About Newsom’s Redistricting Plan

DON'T MISS

Fresno Animal Center at Critical Capacity After Receiving Over 100 Dogs

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Two SoCal Men in Homicide Investigation

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Investigating Fatal Stabbing of 31-Year-Old Man

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Sheriff Adds Goshen Teen to Most Wanted List

UP NEXT

Texas Republicans Approve Trump-Backed Congressional Map to Protect Party’s Majority

UP NEXT

Poll: California Dems Favor Newsom Over Harris in 2028 Matchup

UP NEXT

Why COVID Is Spreading Again This Summer

UP NEXT

US Budget Deficit Forecast $1 Trillion Higher Over Next Decade, Watchdog Says

UP NEXT

Texas Republicans Set to Approve Trump-Backed Congressional Map to Protect Party’s Majority

UP NEXT

Israel Calls up Tens of Thousands of Reservists Before New Gaza Offensive

UP NEXT

Trump Buys More Than $100 Million in Bonds in Office, Disclosure Shows

UP NEXT

Israel Has Begun First Stages of Its Planned Assault on Gaza City, Says Israeli Military Spokesman

UP NEXT

Trump Calls Netanyahu a ‘War Hero’ and Adds: ‘I Guess I Am Too’

UP NEXT

Israel to Place $500 Million, US-Funded Order for Boeing Aerial Refueling Tankers

Fresno County Authorities Seek Suspect in Casino Assault

9 hours ago

Poll: California Dems Favor Newsom Over Harris in 2028 Matchup

10 hours ago

‘Moral Conflict’ Drives Dem Doubts About Newsom’s Redistricting Plan

10 hours ago

Fresno Animal Center at Critical Capacity After Receiving Over 100 Dogs

10 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Two SoCal Men in Homicide Investigation

11 hours ago

Fresno Police Investigating Fatal Stabbing of 31-Year-Old Man

11 hours ago

Tulare County Sheriff Adds Goshen Teen to Most Wanted List

12 hours ago

Lemoore Union Elementary Reaches Settlement Over Disability Discrimination Allegations

12 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is Pismo’s Manager in ICE Detention?

12 hours ago

Why COVID Is Spreading Again This Summer

12 hours ago

International Rapper Derrick ‘Aesop’ McElroy Who Called Fresno Home Dies at 51

When he wasn’t touring Asia, Europe, or across the U.S., Derrick “Aesop” McElroy was busy making a name for himself and fo...

8 hours ago

Derrick 'Aesop' McElroy
8 hours ago

International Rapper Derrick ‘Aesop’ McElroy Who Called Fresno Home Dies at 51

A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization ceremony in New York City, U.S., September 17, 2021. (Reuters File)
9 hours ago

Trump Administration to Vet Immigration Applications for ‘Anti-Americanism’

State Representative Matt Morgan (R-TX) holds a map of the new proposed congressional districts in Texas, during a legislative session as Democratic lawmakers, who left the state to deny Republicans the opportunity to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, begin returning to the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, U.S. August 20, 2025. (Reuters/Sergio Flores)
9 hours ago

Texas Republicans Approve Trump-Backed Congressional Map to Protect Party’s Majority

Fresno County authorities are searching for Robert Rios, 27, of Auberry, wanted for assault, burglary and drug possession following a June 6 domestic disturbance at Mono Wind Casino. (Fresno County SO)
9 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Seek Suspect in Casino Assault

10 hours ago

Poll: California Dems Favor Newsom Over Harris in 2028 Matchup

Gov. Gavin Newsom at Election Rigging Response News Conference
10 hours ago

‘Moral Conflict’ Drives Dem Doubts About Newsom’s Redistricting Plan

The Fresno Animal Center is over capacity after taking in more than 100 animals in recent days, leaving dozens of dogs at risk of euthanasia unless the community steps up to adopt or foster, officials said. (Shutterstock)
10 hours ago

Fresno Animal Center at Critical Capacity After Receiving Over 100 Dogs

Fresno police arrested Krishan Kumar (left), 24, and Vishal Vishal, 31, in connection with the July 21 shooting death of Kuvar Kumar. (Fresno PD)
11 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Two SoCal Men in Homicide Investigation

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend