ISRAEL BLASTS UN FOR NIXING EXTENDED IRAN ARMS BAN

Israel has condemned the rejection by the UN Security Council of a US proposal to extend the arms embargo on Iran as "a disgrace" just two days after establishing diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and promising not to establish Jewish settlements in Palestinian lands, which is illegal based on international law and UN resolutions.

"Instead of allowing the terrorist regime in Tehran to acquire deadly weapons, the council should impose crippling sanctions on Iran," Israel's new UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan tweeted on Saturday, August 15, 2020, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

"The council has utterly failed in its responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. This decision will further destabilize the Middle East, and increase the spread of violence around the world," the envoy howled.

On Friday, the UN Security Council resoundingly rejected the US bid to indefinitely extend the arms embargo on Iran. The US-sponsored resolution received two votes in favor, two against, and 11 abstentions, the council's president announced. The 13-year-old arms embargo on Iran is set to end in October, under a provision of UN Resolution 2231, in which the Security Council backed the nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers signed in Vienna in 2015. Israel and Iran are arch-enemies. Israel accuses Tehran of continuing to work on developing nuclear weapons, while Iran threatens the existence of the Jewish state.