Hook from Kuwait: Lifting Arms Embargo on Iran Will Intensify Violence

Brian Hook, US Special Representative for Iran, attends an interview with Reuters at the US Embassy in Paris, June 27, 2019. (Reuters)
Brian Hook, US Special Representative for Iran, attends an interview with Reuters at the US Embassy in Paris, June 27, 2019. (Reuters)
TT
20

Hook from Kuwait: Lifting Arms Embargo on Iran Will Intensify Violence

Brian Hook, US Special Representative for Iran, attends an interview with Reuters at the US Embassy in Paris, June 27, 2019. (Reuters)
Brian Hook, US Special Representative for Iran, attends an interview with Reuters at the US Embassy in Paris, June 27, 2019. (Reuters)

US Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook stressed on Monday that Washington is continuing its efforts to extend the arms embargo against Iran, which was enforced 13 years ago, for the sake of achieving stability in the region and the world.

Based on the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, the UN Security Council will lift the arms embargo by October 18. Washington has prepared a draft resolution it has submitted to the UNSC members to extend the embargo beyond the deadline.

“No one believes Iran should be able to buy and sell conventional weapons,” Hook said, adding: “Conflicts in Syria and elsewhere will intensify if the arms embargo on Iran is lifted.”

The official spoke from Kuwait where he held talks Monday with Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah.

Hook said that ending the embargo will seriously compromise peace and security of the Middle East.

"I've spoken with leaders here in the Gulf and around the world - no one believes that Iran should be able to freely buy and sell conventional weapons such as fighter jets ... and various kinds of missiles," Hook said.

He added that if the Security Council fails to extend the arms embargo, Iran will be able to freely buy and sell these weapons.

“Imagine what the region will look like if this happens, conflicts in places like Syria and Yemen will certainly intensify,” he warned.



Israel Tells Worried Members of Iran’s Security Services to Contact Mossad

 Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
TT
20

Israel Tells Worried Members of Iran’s Security Services to Contact Mossad

 Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)

The Israeli military is urging members of the Iranian security services to contact Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, claiming they had been receiving messages from officials worried about Iran’s “uncertain future.”

There was no immediate way to independently verify the claim.

In a post on the social platform X in Farsi, the Israeli military provided a website and urged users to employ a virtual private network before attempting contact.

“Even those who identify themselves as members of the regime’s security institutions express their fear, despair, and anger at what is happening in Iran and ask us to contact Israeli authorities - so that Iran does not suffer the same fate as Lebanon and Gaza,” the message added.

The message did not elaborate. However, it comes as Iran is in a frenzy over spies, prompting warnings to officials to abandon certain devices, apps and web services.

The internet was down in Iran late Wednesday afternoon. Authorities offered no immediate explanation.