US launches countdown clock to warn of Russia and China arming Iran

[link to www.washingtonexaminer.com (secure)]

Excerpt:

Western allies have 15 months to unify against Iran before the regime is free to buy and sell weapons under the 2015 nuclear deal, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

“Time is drawing short to continue this activity of restricting Iran’s capacity to foment its terror regime,” Pompeo said Tuesday at the United Nations Security Council.

The top U.S. diplomat paired that exhortation with the launch of a State Department “countdown clock” to the expiration of the United Nations arms embargo on Iran and the lifting of travel restrictions on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qassem Soleimani next year. President Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal has been a divisive issue among Western allies, but the U.S. presentation put a spotlight on the weapons systems that alarm key European powers.

“Soon after, the Iranian regime will also be free to sell weapons to anyone, including terrorist proxies, and countries like Russia and China will be able to sell the Iranian regime tanks, missiles, and air defense equipment,” Pompeo’s team emphasized in a note alongside the countdown clock. “This could start a new arms race in the Middle East and further destabilize the region and the world.”