US will do utmost to renew Iran arms embargo: Pompeo

VIENNA: The United States will do everything in its power to renew the international arms embargo on Iran under review at the United Nations, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a joint news conference with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in Vienna, Austria.

The UN Security Council has started voting on a US bid to renew the embargo, expiring in mid-October. Veto-powers Russia and China are opposed, and results are due within hours.

Visiting Austria as part of a tour of central Europe, Pompeo said Iran must also provide full and immediate cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog, whose head he met in Vienna.

“It makes no sense to permit the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism to purchase and sell weapons systems,” Pompeo told a news conference. “I mean, that’s just nuts.” Iran denies promoting terrorism.

Pompeo said Washington would “do everything that we can within our diplomatic toolset to ensure that arms embargo doesn’t expire”.

“The voting will be in the next handful of hours and we are hoping that we will be successful. When we see the results, we will make the decision about how to move forward.

“We have been unambiguous about the fact we have no intention of allowing this arms embargo to expire. None whatsoever.”

The embargo is set to end mid-October under Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which US President Donald Trump’s administration quit in 2018.

IAEA head Rafael Grossi, whose agency is policing Iran’s nuclear deal with major powers, told reporters after meeting Pompeo that talks with Tehran on full access to all sites continued.

“We have requested Iran to grant access. That hasn’t happened yet. We are working on that,” he said.

“Our objective is to get access to continue the verification work which is essential for the international community.”

Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany to convene an emergency Iran summit to avoid an escalation of tensions in the Gulf.

China, France, Russia, Britain, the United States, Germany and Iran should take part in the video summit, the Kremlin chief said.

“It´s an urgent issue,” Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin.

“Discussions at the UN Security Council over the Iranian issue are becoming increasingly tense,” Putin said, adding that Moscow´s ally Iran was a target of “groundless accusations”.

“The goal is to put together a blueprint that would allow to avoid confrontation, an escalation in tensions at the UN Security Council.”

He added that the leaders should also agree on ways to ensure security and trust in the Gulf region.

Tensions over Iran have escalated since 2018 when President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a multinational accord that froze Iran´s nuclear programme and reimposed crippling sanctions on its economy.

Last week US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington would submit a UN Security Council resolution to extend an arms embargo on Iran despite opposition from Russia and China.