Trump Suffers Embarrassing Diplomatic Defeat at the UN After Alienating Most of Our Closest Allies

The United Nations Security Council voted overwhelmingly yesterday to reject the Trump administration's bid to extend an arms embargo on Iran despite months of lobbying by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The Dominican Republic was the only other Security Council member voting in favor of the US resolution, signaling how isolated America has become internationally during the Trump years.

The arms embargo, designed to prevent Iran from strengthening its conventional military forces, expires in October. Pompeo had argued that the sanctions should be extended because Iran has violated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JPOA, the Iran Nuclear Deal] by slowly ramping up its nuclear program.

America's European allies simply don't see a lot of logic in Pompeo's argument, however, because Iran had adhered to the nuclear deal until President Trump withdrew from the JPOA and renewed economic sanctions. They view Trump's withdrawal as a strategic blunder that has needlessly destabilized the Middle East and strengthened Iran's hardliners who had argued that America couldn't be trusted to live up to the agreement. Many in Europe saw the JPOA as an initial step in building trust with Iran, allowing future negotiations on other regional security issues.

The JPOA had initially strengthened moderate voices in Iran seeking to reengage with the international community and rebuild the nation's economy. However, Trump's decision to withdraw and reimpose sanctions undermined those efforts. So, in the last few months, Tehran has looked to strengthen its economic and military ties with China in order to blunt US efforts to isolate them. And, yesterday China voted against Pompeo's Security Council resolution.

After losing the Security Council vote yesterday, Pompeo promised further efforts to prevent Iran from purchasing arms.

#UN #internationalrelations #Iran #news

By: Don Lam & Curated Content