Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the UK abstained on the US-sponsored UN Security Council resolution to extend the arms embargo on Iran.
The UN conventional arms embargo on Iran expired on 18 October. The UK, alongside our E3 partners (France and Germany), remain concerned about the impact of the expiry on the region. Despite E3 efforts to find a compromise in the UN Security Council, there was no consensus to extend the embargo. We abstained on the US draft resolution because it was clear that it would not attract the support of the Council. Ultimately, unless a resolution could pass, it would have no impact on Iran. We remain committed to countering Iranian proliferation to non-state actors in the region. The EU arms embargo and UN ballistic missile restrictions on Iran will remain in place, as will other prohibitions on the proliferation of weapons, including to Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi militia groups and the Houthis.