The United States is pressuring Britain to back continued arms sanctions against Iran by asking if it would allow the “world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism to buy and sell weapons”.
US President Donald Trump’s administration is becoming increasingly concerned that the coming United Nations vote on whether to continue the arms ban will not be supported by other key countries.
If the embargo is lifted then Iran will be able to buy advanced military technology from states such as China and Russia, which will be able to sell it sophisticated surface-to-air missiles, jets and submarines.
Without the support of Britain and other major European nations in the mid-October vote it is unclear how America can enforce sanctions against Iran for violating the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal.
Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, will today try to trigger a “snapback” mechanism of all UN sanctions on Iran that were eased in the 2015 deal citing Tehran’s breach of the deal by its continued attempts to enrich uranium.
A clause in the JCPOA allows any signatory country to reimpose – or “snapback” – all sanctions on Iran if it breaches the agreement without other members allowed a veto
The US snapback attempt has been undermined after Mr Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 calling it the “worst deal ever”.
The accord, originally signed by the US, the UK, France, Germany, China and Russia, was a central diplomatic achievement for former president Barack Obama, limiting Iran's nuclear research in return for ending crippling economic sanctions.
Within the deal is a provision for the arms embargo first imposed in 2007 to expire in mid-October this year as long as Iran remained compliant.
The embargo now looks likely to go after the UN refused to back an extension last week. Britain, France and Germany caused further frustration for the Mr Trump’s government by abstaining from the vote.
Washington is now attempting to put pressure on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson by raising the spectre of Iran buying advanced military technology that it could pass on to terror groups it supports.
"The central question is whether or not Britain supports allowing the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism to buy and sell weapons," Kelly Craft, the US ambassador to the UN, told The Times. "Our administration has repeatedly stated that the United States will never allow this to happen."
In response a British government spokesman said: “We share the US concern about Iranian proliferation and the impact this has on regional security.”
However, Washington’s ability to reimpose sanctions remains undermined because the other JCPOA countries insist the US cannot enforce sanctions on an agreement it does not recognise.
The European Commission reinforced the point in a statement. “The US cannot be considered as a JCPOA participant. We therefore consider that the US is not in a position to resort to mechanisms reserved for JCPOA participants.”
When asked if the UN Security Council would support a snapback that would mean reimposing sanctions on Iranian industry and finance, Mr Pompeo said: “We have every expectation that every country in the world will live up to its obligations.”
Commentators believe that the sanctions issue is likely to be delayed until after the US presidential election in November.
