UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- A U.N. committee has investigated two apparent violations of the Iranian arms embargo, the head of the committee told the Security Council Friday.
Tsuneo Nishida, the Japanese ambassador to the United Nations, said both violations occurred in the past three months, CNN reported.
In one case, a country reported finding 13 shipping containers of arms apparently originating in Iran, he said. In another case, a country seized a container of explosives being shipped from Iran to Syria.
The Security Council, in a 2007 resolution, banned the export of arms from Iran. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said Nishida's report shows Iran's behavior is unchanged.
"Unfortunately, when it comes to Iran's actions, not much has changed since we last met," she said. "Iran continues to violate its obligations."
Gary Samore, President Barack Obama's top adviser on non-proliferation, said in a speech to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies that the United States and its allies will ratchet up sanctions if Iran continues on its present course. He said they will "test how high Iran's pain threshold is."
