The United Nations Security Council has voted to reject a resolution submitted by the US that aimed to extend the current arms embargo on Iran indefinitely, as the FBI announces it will help investigate the deadly explosion in Lebanon, and Iran warns about the dangers of Western interference…

We have seen tensions between the US and Iran continue to increase over the last two years. On Thursday, Washington submitted a long-shot bid to keep the current arms embargo against Iran in place, “until the Security Council decides otherwise,” which was eventually rejected by the Council.

In a statement, US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft said, “Iran’s actions fuel conflict, chaos, and human suffering on a broad scale. It continues to endanger the lives and livelihoods of millions of innocent men, women, and children by actively supporting proxy groups and terrorist organizations in countries like Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq.”

While Craft did not address how the US has contributed to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the ongoing war in Iraq, or the latest plan to arm proxy groups in Syria, she did claim the United Nations Security Council needs to “wake up” to the real-world implications of allowing Iran to have access to weapons such as fighter jets, tanks and warships.

As reports have noted, “the 13-year-old arms embargo is due to expire in October under a 2015 nuclear deal among Iran, Russia, China, Germany, Britain, France and the United States that prevents Tehran from developing nuclear weapons in return for sanctions relief.”

But ever since the Trump Administration pulled out of the deal and started implementing sanctions again in 2018, they have campaigned for the UN to push that expiration date back as far as possible.

The 15 members of the UN Security Council were given 24 hours to cast their votes virtually on the resolution, and it was expected that Russia and China will use their vetoes to defeat it.

Meanwhile, it has been more than week since the deadly explosion in Lebanon’s capital killed nearly 180 people, and already, the US and France have sent officials to the country to warn against corruption. Iran’s foreign minister also met with his counterpart in Lebanon, and he said he fears Western countries will use the tragic event to push their own agendas.

“We believe that Lebanon as people and government are the only side that should decide in this matter, and we also think no one should take advantage of the catastrophic conditions and the dire needs of Lebanon to impose dictates that are in their interests,” said Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The US has also confirmed that the FBI will join the investigation into the explosion, raising questions about whether that “Western agenda” will bring justice to the thousands of victims and their families.