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Law of the jungle
The Security Council was meeting on Tuesday to discuss a report by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that determined that cruise missiles used in several attacks on oil facilities and an international airport in Saudi Arabia last year were of "Iranian origin."
Saudi Arabia's U.N. Ambassador Abdullah Al Mouallimi said Russia and China had been "sympathetic" to Riyadh's situation, but when it came to the proposal to extend the arms embargo on Iran they "presumably had scores to settle with the United States."
"We're trying to separate the two issues in our discussions with them, which ... are open, are friendly discussions, are based on the good relations that we enjoy with both countries," he told a news conference later on Tuesday.
If Washington is unsuccessful in extending the arms embargo, it has threatened to trigger at the Security Council a return of all U.N. sanctions on Iran under the nuclear deal, even though it left the accord in 2018. Diplomats say Washington would face a tough, messy battle.
Iran has breached parts of the nuclear deal in response to the U.S. withdrawal and Washington's reimposition of sanctions.
U.N. political affairs and peacebuilding chief Rosemary DiCarlo said the nuclear deal was crucial to regional and international security, adding: "It is therefore regrettable that the future of this agreement is in doubt."
Britain, France and Germany all expressed concern to the council that lifting the arms embargo on Iran would have major implications for regional security and stability. However, they also said they would not back U.S. efforts to unilaterally trigger a return of all U.N. sanctions on Iran.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said: "The international community in general — and the U.N. Security Council in particular — are facing an important decision: Do we maintain respect for the rule of law, or do we return to the law of the jungle by surrendering to the whims of an outlaw bully?"
