'Why Did You Not Say Anything?': Reporter Grills Vedant Patel Over Iran Selling Drones

all right uh moving on to um into Ukraine um and specifically with the Iranian drones can you explain why it is that you and the French believe that um the Iranian supply of these drones to Russia for use anywhere a violation of U.N security Council 2231. sure so uh as uh I said yesterday uh Iran's supply of these specific types of uavs to Russia is a violation of U.N security Council resolution 2231 and it is before the U.N security Council uh the reasoning for that and as you know Matt uh 2231 remains in effect various aspects of it of course have phased out but a specific aspect called Annex B uh has not and paragraph four of annex feed uh has made clear uh it's a distinct restriction remains in effect and what that is is in nxp it's laid out uh that it prohibits the transfer from Iran of all items materials equipments and goods and Technology unless approved in advance by the U.N security Council on a case-by-case basis additionally both of the types of uavs that we spoke about earlier in the summer that Iran had been provisioning to Russia uh meet the parameters under category two because they are capable of a range equal to and greater than 300 kilometers I would also note that the uh manufacturer of one of these drones uh codes Aviation is subject to the asset freeze provision of paragraph six of annex B uh to 2231 and all states are required to freeze the funds or financial assets of these designated entities when they're under separate service okay so if that's the case why did you not say anything when these same drones were used in Yemen in Syria actual potentially Libya dating back to you know 18 months ago at the very least why what why is it now when they're being used in Ukraine that you're saying this is a violation we would have said they were a violation then too you were actually asked in December of 2021 the Saudis youth the Israelis asked even I believe the emirati's life has as well after the first round of one round of uh of drone attacks not just in the ending but also inside Saudi and inside uad to to bring this up and there was silence so the question is why now why not then this is the repeated pattern of behavior so I think first and foremost I'm not going to get in the specifics of the Diplomatic engagements that we've had with other countries but what I can say is that the transfer of the specific uavs by Iran would be a violation of paragraph four of annex B whether they were sent to the houthis whether they were sent to Russia absent Advanced permission on a case-by-case basis by the U.N security Council this would be a restriction and in the case of the transfers in Yemen that you mentioned to the these these transfers would also have violated a resolution 2264. uh and on the topic of Yemen we are working closely with the un uh Yemen sanctions committee panel of experts to facilitate their ongoing investigation of fire attacks in and from Yemen uh with the use of these types of uavs but I'll also note that when we have assessed that Iran has transferred these same types of uavs in the past we have informed the UN as in this case as it relates to Yemen but also uh we have informed the U.N about Iran's transfer of the mahaja 6 uavs to Ethiopia last summer I can't speak to any public messaging around that we I certainly didn't work here at the time but this kind of transfer would fall under this restriction and it would be subject to it okay well then you know you're making you're making the case now publicly so why didn't you make the case require D in the previous video was it because you still had some hopes for getting a to you know revive or Resurrect The the jcpoa or again I'm not gonna gonna speculate on uh on diplomatic engagements I just I want to know why it's a big deal now and it wasn't a big deal then it was a big deal then but it was also okay you didn't raise it publicly as I said that the assessment of these transfers even back then would have been subject to these restrictions I can't comment on uh on on on previously but what I would say right now is that uh and as I said yesterday uh ratna becoming more reliant on a country like Iran a country known for its destabilizing actions in the region and across the world should be deeply concerning to the world and anyone doing business with Iran that could have a link to uh unmanned aircraft systems or ballistic missiles development uh it could be very careful that's a broader point though that that has to do with your interpretation your analysis of your rougher running low and on its own weapons and needing to rely on what you you know or whoever my question is specifically why didn't you make a big deal about this when these same drones were being used to kill civilians in Yemen and in Syria again Matt I can't speak to I can't speak to whatever decisions we made around then other than to reiterate as I just said that it would be our assessment that these transfers would be problematic and would have fallen under these restrictions back then as well because these are the same types of uavs and when we found that we have raised it appropriately with relevant countries well in fact that it was raised by the Saudis and others back in December of 2021 and and nothing was done again Matt uh we engage with countries uh on these very important issues we don't read out every single one of these engagements as I've said we raise these with the United Nations I'll stop after this what are you great you've raised this with the security Council now we we are working with our allies and partners including at the UN to address the escalating threats posed by Russia and Iran uh and uh we'll take appropriate actions as necessary I'm sorry I said I would stop but this is really the last one if you were a betting man even if you're not a betting man you're going to bring this to the security Council asking for Security Council action to punish Iran and Russia for Russia taking or Iran transferring these drones to Russia but what do you think the chances are of getting anything through the security camera not I'm just not going to speculate on hypotheticals or get ahead of any preview documents here

Channel: Forbes Breaking News

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Length: 7min 54sec (474 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 18 2022