The United States on Monday threatened to move unilaterally against Iran after Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution criticizing Tehran for failing to stop its weapons from reaching the Houthis in Yemen.
"If Russia continues to cover up Iran, the United States and our allies will need to take action on their own," US Ambassador to the United Nations Nicky Healy told reporters during a visit to Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras. Action on the Council, then we will have to take our action. " However, Healey did not specify what action might be taken.
The Russian veto is a defeat for the United States, which has been pressing for months to hold Iran accountable in the United Nations. At the same time, it threatened to pull out of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in 2015 if what it calls "catastrophic defects" is not fixed.
"It is clear that this veto will not make a decision on the nuclear agreement ... What I can say is that it does not help," said Haley. "This has only proved the validity of many of what we already thought Iran was getting a permit for its dangerous and illegal way," she said.
Britain drafted the resolution, in consultation with the United States and France. Initially, the draft sought to denounce Iran for violating the arms embargo imposed on the Huthi leaders and included a commitment by the Council to take action.
The latest draft of the resolution was dropped in an attempt to seek Moscow's support, and instead expressed concern about the violation reported by UN experts, who monitor the sanctions by the Security Council.
The draft resolution referred to three key points in which the British draft resolution expressed the Security Council's deep concern over the findings of the Panel of Experts that "Iran is not complying with the arms embargo in resolution 2216" and further "the Council's intention to take additional measures To address these violations ". But the draft did not address the other violations referred to by the panel of experts on the Saudi-led alliance.
The draft resolution received the support of 11 members and the opposition of two members, Russia and Bolivia, while China and Kazakhstan abstained.
Competitive decision
The Council then approved a competing draft resolution, proposed by Russia, that did not mention Iran and renewed UN sanctions on Yemen for a year.
By adopting resolution 2402, the Council was able to extend the work of resolution 2342 for an additional year, most of which contains technical amendments.
The draft resolution was supposed to vote on Wednesday morning, but the vote was adjourned in the afternoon for further consultation, with a Russian-Chinese objection that the British draft resolution would contain any mention of Iran and the Huthis.
Russia questioned the results of the UN experts' report, submitted to the council in January.
The experts' report concluded that Iran was not complying with Resolution 2216 because it had not taken the necessary measures to prevent the supply of short-range ballistic missiles to the Huthis and the related equipment used in the missile and UAV systems.
Any Security Council resolution requires the approval of nine members without the use of a veto by any permanent member.
