Pompeo: U.S. not to let Iran buy arms

The United States will not allow Iran to purchase conventional arms after a U.N. prohibition on this expires in October, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

"We’re not going to let that happen,” Pompeo told reporters at a news briefing. "We will work with the U.N. Security Council to extend that prohibition on those arms sales and then in the event we can’t get anyone else to act, the United States is evaluating every possibility about how we might do that."

"The failures of the Iran nuclear deal are legion. One of them is now upon us. ... where China, Russia, and other countries from around the world can all sell significant conventional weapon systems to the Iranians in October," Reuters cited the Secretary of State as saying.

"We are urging our E3 partners to take action. This is within their capacity to do," he added, referring to Britain, France and Germany, each of which has the ability to force the 'snapback' of all U.N. sanctions on Iran - including the conventional arms embargo - lifted under the nuclear deal.

"The U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 is very clear. We don’t have to declare ourselves as a participant...It’s there in the language...It’s unambigious and the rights that accrue to participants in the UN Security Council resolution are fully available to all those participants," Pompeo said.