Vetoed anti-Iran UN resolution another defeat for US: Araqchi

A senior Iranian diplomat says Russia's vote against a United Nations draft resolution aimed at pressuring Iran over alleged missiles provision to Yemeni forces represented another setback for the United States.

Russia on Monday vetoed a resolution at the UN Security Council, presented by Britain and strongly backed by the United States, that called for "additional measures" against Iran over accusations that it violated the 2015 arms embargo on the war-torn Arabian Peninsula state.

The draft resolution gained 11 favorable votes at the 15-member Security Council but was blocked by Russia's veto. China and Kazakhstan abstained, while Bolivia also voted against the measure.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi rejected the "spiteful" allegations.

"Based on a one-sided report, they intended to pass a resolution that also referred to Iran, but they failed," Araqchi said.

"This is yet another failure by the US government to drag Iran to the Security Council," he added.

"Over the past year, the US government has on many occasions tried to one again drag Iran to the Security Council and it has failed every single time and this is another sign of the US isolation on the international scene and the strength of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the senior Iranian diplomat pointed out. He emphasized that the "biased accusations" were absolutely clear in the way the report was formulated by the UN panel.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister said the UN experts had "made their own judgment even before traveling to Iran to discuss and hear our comments."

It was clear how others had influenced the report, Araqchi added.

"We will definitely continue our policies in the region in a way that will meet the country's interests," he said.

EA