UN Security Council Rejects Extension of Sanctions Relief for Iran

On September 19, the UN Security Council voted on a draft resolution presented by the Republic of Korea, in its capacity as Council president, which sought to continue sanctions relief imposed on Iran under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The text did not pass: it received four votes in favor (Algeria, China, Pakistan, and Russia), nine against (Denmark, France, Greece, Panama, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), and two abstentions (Guyana and South Korea itself).

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Venezuela and Iran Seek to Strengthen Alliance in Response to U.S. Military Deployment in the Caribbean

Caracas and Tehran have once again closed ranks amid growing tensions with Washington. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, held a conversation in which they both denounced what they described as “intimidatory actions” by the United States following the deployment of military vessels in waters near Venezuela.

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