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Removing the UN Arms Embargo on Iran Will Reward Tehran's Malign Actions
(Atlantic Council) Col. (res.) Udi Evental - Israeli policymakers unequivocally support the U.S. demand to extend the UN arms embargo on Iran that will expire in October. Removing the embargo will amount to a capitulation to Iran, which for years has repeatedly disobeyed UN Security Council resolutions forbidding it to export weapons to other countries, non-state actors, and terror organizations. In violation of UNSCR 1701, Iran has supplied Lebanese Hizbullah with advanced weapon systems and military technology. Iran is arming the murderous regime of Bashar al-Assad. Iran is transferring missiles and weapon systems to the Houthis in Yemen. In Iraq, Iran is deploying missiles and arming the Shia militias. The expectation that Iran would scale down its malign activity in the region following the 2015 nuclear deal failed the test of reality. Should a Russian veto block the U.S. effort to extend the embargo, Israel will actively support any American-led initiative to form a like-minded coalition of willing states that will apply a rigid arms embargo on Iran. Such an embargo would aim to increase the pressure on Russia to avoid selling problematic and balance-shifting weapon systems to Iran. The writer is a senior research fellow at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at IDC Herzliya.