UN refusal to back US-drafted anti-Iran resolution proves existence of intl. law: Russia

Russia's Foreign Ministry says the almost unanimous refusal of the United Nations Security Council to support a US-sponsored draft resolution on extending the arms embargo against Iran proves that international law exists.

During the 15-member Security Council vote on Friday, the US received support only from the Dominican Republic for its anti-Iran resolution, leaving it far short of the minimum nine "yes" votes required for adoption.

Russia and China voted against the draft resolution and the remaining 11 Security Council members, including France, Germany and Britain, abstained.

UN Security Council rejects US resolution to extend Iran arms embargo

The United Nations Security Council has rejected a US resolution to extend an arms embargo on Iran that is due to expire in October.

"The draft [resolution] was categorically rejected by the Security Council. The results of the vote became a reminder for the US colleagues that international law exists," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

It added that the body members' refusal to support the draft resolution showed that all the Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2231 that endorses the landmark 2015 nuclear deal -- officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- "must be observed by everyone, including Washington, and in their entirety, and not only in the part that suits [the US]."

The ministry emphasized that the US knew in advance that its resolution would not be supported.

The United States had, in recent months, stepped up its push to keep the UN arms ban against Iran in place through a UNSC resolution, threatening that it would use a provision in the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, which Washington left in 2018, to trigger a return of all UN sanctions on Iran if the UN body failed to extend the embargo.

The remaining signatories to the deal, even Washington’s own allies, have repeatedly reminded the US that it is no longer a party to the JCPOA and thus cannot use the provision to bring about a renewal of anti-Iran bans.

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Elsewhere in its statement, the Russian ministry said Moscow does not regard interaction within the Security Council as a clash of ambitions but a responsible joint work for the sake of maintaining and strengthening international peace and security.

However, it added, Washington's desire to push for the anti-Iranian embargo has nothing to do with this goal.

According to the statement, the failure of the draft resolution clearly confirmed that pressure and brute force as well as the demonization of Iran are not the solutions to possible tensions in the Persian Gulf region.

It also pointed to a proposal put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin to convene a video summit in the presence of the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany and Iran in a bid to avoid "confrontation and escalation" at the United Nations and said it is an invitation to start a meaningful conversation and constructive cooperation in the necessary direction.

"We hope that this proposal will receive broad support and will be implemented," the ministry said.

In a statement on Friday, Russia's President Putin proposed a video summit with the United States, Britain, France, China, Germany and Iran, saying, "The issue is urgent."

Putin added that the alternative was "only further escalation of tensions, increasing risk of conflict - such a scenario must be avoided."

After the US suffered a humiliating defeat at the Security Council, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Saturday that the United States has "never been so isolated" in the UN's 75-year history.

Iran says US 'has never been so isolated’ defeat at UNSC to extend arms ban

Iran says the US has "never been so isolated" in the UN

"In the 75 years of United Nations history, America has never been so isolated. Despite all the trips, pressure and the hawking, the United States could only mobilize a small country [to side] with them," Mousavi said in a post on his Twitter account.

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