Arabs and Israelis ‘Speaking With One Voice’ in Support of Extending Iran Arms Embargo, Says Pompeo

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spotlighted on Sunday the close agreement between Gulf Arab states and Israel on the need to extend an international arms embargo against the Iranian regime.

“Countries in the Middle East from the Gulf to Israel support extending the arms embargo,” Pompeo tweeted. “It is deeply important to every one of them. Arabs and Israelis are speaking with one voice and the Security Council must listen.”

The secretary of state was commenting in support of a letter sent over the weekend from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to the UN Security Council urging that an embargo on the movement of conventional weaponry to and from Iran be extended after it expires on Oct. 15.

The letter signed by GCC Secretary-General Nayef Al-Hajra stated that Iran had “continued to proliferate conventional weapons and armed terrorist and sectarian organizations and movements throughout the region.”

It also said Tehran “has not desisted from armed interventions in neighboring countries, directly and through organizations and movements armed and trained by Iran.”

The embargo’s restrictions, the letter stated, were “imperative to ensure and preserve peace and stability in this region.”

Pompeo also confirmed that the US would introduce a UN Security Council resolution “this week to extend the embargo after years of diplomacy.”

Said Pompeo: “The Council must choose between arming terrorists or standing by the Gulf.”

Countries in the Middle East from the Gulf to Israel support extending the arms embargo. It is deeply important to every one of them. Arabs and Israelis are speaking with one voice and the Security Council must listen. pic.twitter.com/VjHlJJRI7B

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) August 9, 2020