In a reaction to some media reports announcing that in a letter to the UN, the Secretary-General of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf has asked an extension of an international arms embargo on Iran, Baharvand named the letter a document forgery and blatant fraud.
He said that the letter has been written and sent to the UN by two people from New York, while other PGCC are not informed about the issue.
"More interesting is Mike Pompeo's reaction to this letter," he noted, "Despite knowing that the letter is a fake one, Pompeo called for the UNSC to abide by the US wishes."
In a letter to the UN Security Council on Sunday, Al-Hajraf accused Iran of supporting terrorism and sectarian organizations, a move pushed strongly by the United States.
Banning Iran from arms trade will lead to stability and security in the region, claimed Al-Hajraf without acknowledging that Saudi Arabia is one of the world's biggest arms purchasers, spending billions with the United States and the United Kingdom, in particular.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi vehemently condemned the anti-Iranian statement on Sunday night. Mousavi expressed regret at the unconstructive approach adopted by certain PGCC members vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
“Unfortunately, it seems that the so-called Persian Gulf Cooperation Council has turned into a spokesperson for some narrow-minded people both inside the council and outside the region and that the council’s secretariat, swayed by the wrong and destructive policies and behavior of certain member states, has turned into a mouthpiece for anti-Iran elements,” said the spokesman.
“The PGCC, which is at the apex of its incompetence, and whose internecine differences as well as unrealistic policies have rendered the council ineffective, has, with this move, led to ignoring realities in the region and turning a blind eye to realities and priorities at this sensitive juncture,” Mousavi noted.
On early Monday, US State Mike Pompeo in his Twitter account praised the Secretary-General of the PGCC for his anti-Iranian letter to the UN Security Council. "The [P]GCC’s letter calling on the @UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo on Iran is a bold statement. The US will introduce a resolution this week to extend the embargo after years of diplomacy. The Council must choose between arming terrorists or standing by the Gulf," Pompeo wrote.
According to UNSC Resolution 2231, the UN arms embargo on Iran will end on October 18.
China and Russia have clearly announced that they will veto such a resolution, however, Foreign Policy has reported that Washington may even fail to attract the required 9 votes to pass the resolution in the first place.
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