Gulf states back extending UN arms embargo on Iran

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A six-nation bloc of Gulf Arab nations torn apart by internal strife endorses an extension of a United Nations arms embargo on Iran, just two months before it is set to expire.

The Gulf Cooperation Council says it sent a letter to the UN Security Council backing an extension of an arms embargo that’s kept Iran from purchasing foreign-made weapons like fighter jets, tanks and warships.

The GCC — comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — alleges Iran has “not ceased or desisted from armed interventions in neighboring countries, directly and through organizations and movements armed and trained by Iran.”

A Saudi-led coalition continues to battle Yemen’s Houthi rebels, whom the UN, the US and armament experts have accused of receiving arms from Iran. Tehran denies arming the Houthis, even as Iranian armaments and components have repeatedly turned up in Yemen.

“As such, it is inappropriate to lift the restrictions on conventional weapons’ movement to and from Iran until it abandons its destabilizing activities in the region and ceases to provide weapons to terrorist and sectarian organizations,” the GCC says.

Iran’s mission to the UN does not immediately respond to a request for comment on the GCC statement.

— AP