Russia Blocks Rebuke of Iran

Russia blocked a UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran for failing to implement the UN arms embargo on Yemen. The United Kingdom drafted the resolution after a UN report concluded in January that military equipment of Iranian origin, including missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, was transferred into Yemen after the Security Council imposed an arms embargo in 2015. In vetoing the resolution Feb. 26, Russia argued that the evidence that Iran provided military equipment to Houthi rebels was inconclusive and fabricated by the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The Jan. 26 report by a panel of experts charged with assessing implementation of the council’s Yemen sanctions found Iran in noncompliance for failing to take “necessary measures to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer” of short-range ballistic missiles and other equipment. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said that Russia’s veto prevents accountability and asserted that there is a “mountain of credible independent evidence” that Iran violated the arms embargo.

In a Jan. 22 letter responding to the panel’s findings, Iran stated that the report relied on “fabricated evidence provided by Saudi Arabia” and argued that Yemen had stockpiles of ballistic missiles prior to the 2015 embargo. The letter also said Iran has “no policy to transfer or to manufacture arms in Yemen.” Bolivia joined Russia in opposing the resolution, while China and Kazakhstan abstained. The remaining 11 members of the Security Council voted in support.
—KELSEY DAVENPORT