US analyst says President Trump to stay in NATO following UNSC Iran embargo rejection

Al-Arabia – United States President Donald Trump isn’t expected to leave NATO due of the presence of “allies such as Poland and other Eastern European countries” that are going against Russia, Michael Pregent, a former US intelligence officer, told Al Arabiya on Sunday.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

He also clarified that countries including Germany, France and the UK didn’t veto the US proposal on extending the arms ban on Iran during a United Nations Security Council vote on Friday, but he said they didn’t vote.

“They didn’t vote. And we have to remember that that the UK, France, and Germany joined the Iran deal, the JCPOA, in order to move into Iran’s economy. It was not about keeping Iran from a nuclear weapon. The United States is the only country that has been concerned about that,” Pregent said during an interview with Al Arabiya.

Washington’s efforts to get the UNSC to extend the Iran arms embargo failed Friday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, calling the result “inexcusable.”

The UNSC voted on the US resolution, which was distributed to member states earlier in the week.

China and Russia voted against the resolution, two countries voted for, and 11 member states abstained from casting a vote, the Security Council Presidency announced.

Earlier Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed holding a seven-way online summit of the five permanent members of the UNSC together with Germany and Iran, to outline steps aimed at avoiding a confrontation over the Iran arms embargo.

In a Kremlin statement, Putin said discussions were becoming increasingly tense over the Iranian issue at the Security Council.

Al Arabiya English’s Joseph Haboush contributed to this report.