The international community has witnessed repeated proof of Iranian arms shipments to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and other locations in the region in clear violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the international 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal with Iran.
Annex B of UNSC Res. 2231 imposed a direct ban on the transfer of any weaponry to or from the Islamic Republic until 18 October 2020.
In blatant disregard of its own activity, the Ayatollah regime has denounced attempts by the United States to trigger snapback sanctions after the UNSC refused to extend the embargo beyond its impending expiration. Spokesperson Ali Rabiei declared that “Iran hopes all parties concerned could strongly support fulfillment of the deal and object to the series of illegal bullying actions of the U.S. together.”
Taking Washington’s mounting pressure campaign into consideration, the Ayatollah regime had seemingly decided to scale down noncompliance with the JCPOA. After several months of refusing access, Tehran officials announced they will now accede to requests by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to two sites suspected of undeclared nuclear activities. The reversal in policy followed extensive negotiations in the Iranian capital with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, who said the “extremely important” agreement includes dates and basic modalities for the inspection. “We have also agreed that, or recognized that, these activities that we are going to have there are related to nuclear material or possible related nuclear activities,” he added.
In other developments, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei furiously condemned the United Arab Emirates for agreeing to normalize relations with Israel. During a televised address, Khamenei said the Emiratis will forever be branded by “a stain of shame” even though their deal with Israel not endure. He also insisted the UAE constitutes an overt betrayal of the Islamic world and the Palestinians. “They have opened the way for the Zionists into the region. And the Palestinian issue, the taking of a country by force, by force! Making refugees of a whole nation, is this a small thing? They are trying to make everyone forget this,” he alleged.
Khamenei’s inflammatory remarks were followed a short time later by an announcement that his nation’s arch regional rival Saudi Arabia will open its airspace for direct flight by Israeli aircraft to the UAE. U.S. Senior White House Adviser Jared Kushner was informed of the decision during a visit to Riyadh by the Kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who said it came in response to a personal appeal from his Emirati counterpart Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.