The U.S. special envoy to Iran said Wednesday that nearly all United Nations sanctions against Iran will return Saturday.
His comments come roughly a month after the U.N. Security Council rejected U.S.-led efforts to extend an arms embargo on Iran that is set to expire this October.
“The arms embargo will not be reimposed indefinitely and other restrictions will return, including the ban on Iran engaging in enrichment and reprocessing related activities, the prohibition on ballistic missiles testing and development and sanctions on the transfer of nuclear and missile related technologies to Iran,” special envoy Elliott Abrams said.
“Virtually all U.N. sanctions on Iran will come back and be in place this weekend at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday,” he added.
Mr. Abrams, who also serves as the special envoy to Venezuela, called on all U.N. members to implement similar sanctions and uphold the restrictions.
U.S. officials over the summer urged allies to vote to extend the long-standing arms embargo — that was established under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Prior to the failed Aug. 14 vote, the Trump administration warned that ending it would be disastrous for the Middle East and for U.S. national security because it would give Tehran sudden access to a buffet of Chinese and Russian-made weapons previously acquirable only through nefarious channels.
China and Russia — both permanent members of the Security Council that hold veto power — publicly objected to the extension leading up to the vote.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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