US put to a vote draft UNSC resolution on Iran - source

This is a draft resolution on prolonging the arms embargo against the country.

The US have put to a vote at the UN Security Council a draft resolution on prolonging the arms embargo against Iran, a source in the UN told TASS on Wednesday, adding that the date of the vote will be determined by the council’s president.

"The US has put the document in blue. The date of the vote will be determined by the president of the council (in August, Indonesia holds the UNSC presidency - TASS)," the source said.

Since March, the voting is held in written form due to the remote work of the council. After the voting process begins, the countries have 24 hours to send their decision to members of the UN Secretariat, after which the UN Security Council president announces the results of the vote.

The arms embargo against Iran under the nuclear deal is set to expire on October 18, 2020. US representatives have repeatedly stated that they would look to prolong the embargo despite the US exit from the Iranian nuclear deal. 

Meanwhile, diplomats questioned by TASS expressed doubt that the resolution would get the nine required votes. During the session on the UNSC on Iran that took place in June, the UK, France and Germany stressed that any unilateral offers leading to renewed sanctions are unacceptable.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sent a letter to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres back in June, in which he notes that there are no objective grounds to discuss the prolongation of the arms embargo against Iran at the UN Security Council. The Russian top diplomat reminded that the current arms embargo stipulated by Resolution 2231 of the UNSC is of a temporary nature. Lavrov noted that there are no legal or other grounds to prolong the embargo after October 18, 2020. (TASS)