Biden admin set to allow Iran UN sanctions on ballistic missile program to expire: 'Huge victory for Tehran'

The Hamas war against Israel is slated to be given a potent shot in the arm if the U.S. and its European allies allow U.N. sanctions to be lifted on Iran’s capability to purchase and supply missiles to enemies of the U.S. and Israel, according to experts on Tehran.

This coming Wednesday is the so-called "Transition Day" when the expiration of the U.N.’s embargo against Iran’s ability to procure and sell missiles and drones goes into effect.

Richard Goldberg, who served on the National Security Council during the Trump administration as the director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction, told Fox News Digital, "The president gives a speech saying he is heartbroken about the images of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and opposes Hamas, and a week later, he hands a gift to Hamas’ sponsor, Iran. My heart breaks to see the president lift this embargo."

Goldberg said the removal of U.N. sanctions on Iran’s missile program "will be a huge victory for Tehran that is simply serving as a reward for terrorism and proliferation around world."

ISRAELI PM NETANYAHU DECLARES ‘WAR’ AFTER HAMAS TERRORISTS LAUNCH MASSIVE ATTACK: LIVE UPDATES 

Iran’s ally, Hamas, murdered 1,400 people, including Americans, on Oct. 7 in southern Israel. Fox News Digital reported on Sunday that the late U.S.-designated Iranian global terrorist Qassem Soleimani was the architect of the mass murder, according to a Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) report.

Iran’s regime threatened Israel as the Jewish state prepares to launch an expected ground invasion into Gaza to root out Hamas terrorists and the entity’s military apparatus.

The Biden administration would have multiple pathways to try stopping the sanctions from expiring. U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 states unequivocally that the U.S. is a partner to the resolution that endorsed the JCPOA; the Trump administration previously cited the resolution in its push to trigger snapback sanctions. In addition, the administration could endorse a potential letter from the EU3 -- made up of the U.K., France and Germany -- to the president of the Security Council to invoke snapback, though it's not believed that such a move from the Europeans is on the table.

After Fox News Digital published its report on Tuesday, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday, "We are not a party to JCPOA and cannot snapback. The prior administration effectively gave up the leverage of invoking snapback with its unilateral exit from the JCPOA, which resulted in an unsuccessful attempt to trigger the snapback mechanism at the U.N. Security Council in August 2020. At the time, the overwhelming majority of U.N. Security Council members agreed that the previous resolutions had not snapped back into place. "

The spokesperson continued, "But, of course, the snapback mechanism is not expiring and remains in place. We do not rely solely on UNSCR 2231 to restrict Iran’s dangerous development and proliferation of missile related technologies and UAVs, but rather a comprehensive set of multilateral and unilateral tools." 

The spokesperson went on to say, "We continue to use all our tools to counter Iran’s missile and UAV development and proliferation, including sanctions, unilateral and multilateral export controls, interdiction activities, diplomatic engagement, cooperation with private industry."

The statement concluded, "The United States has already effectively sanctioned the same networks and entities subject to the U.N. restrictions under UNSCR 2231. We also strongly support the E3 governments’ decision to retain Europe’s nuclear, conventional arms, and missile-related restrictions on Iran."

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 was passed by the 15-member body in 2015.

BLINKEN IN ISRAEL, SAYS MORE AMERICANS KILLED, VOWS SOLIDARITY ‘ALWAYS’

Goldberg, who is a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), noted that "it is an unforgivable policy choice at this moment. We can stop it from expiring. We could send a letter to the United Nations Security Council and trigger snapback sanctions." He termed the Biden’s policy toward Iran "appeasement."

"Washington’s silence on the lapse of U.N. missile prohibitions on Iranian missile testing and transfers is deafening. Iran’s missile proliferation radius keeps expanding, and with the lapse of U.N. restrictions this October, that will almost certainly grow to include Russia," Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert and senior fellow at FDD, told Fox News Digital.

He added, "Make no mistake, though short of snapback, Europe’s decision to retain missile and nonproliferation sanctions on Iran is not an insignificant act. It is akin to their first ever violation of the deal. That’s big."

The European members of the JCPOA, U.K., France and Germany, known as the EU3 announced last month that they had decided to keep their ballistic missile and nuclear proliferation-related sanctions on Iran in place. 

The Obama administration’s controversial 2015 nuclear accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), contained provisions on weapons sanctions against Iran that were allowed to lapse. The Trump administration withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 because, his administration argued, the deal did not stop Iran’s drive to weaponize a nuclear device, degrade its ballistic missile program and end its sponsorship of terrorism.

The JCPOA permitted the lifting of the U.N. ban on Iran’s ballistic missile activities. According to the United Nations Security Council sanctions package, "Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology" until Transition Day.

Taleblu recently authored a report titled "Avoiding an October Sanctions Surprise That Would Empower Tehran." According to the FDD report, the "prohibition on U.N. member states providing Iran with missile components and technology, along with restrictions on Iran’s missile exports, are popularly called the ‘missile embargo’ and will also lapse on Transition Day."

FORMER ISRAELI SOLDIER SUGGESTS HOSTAGE RESCUE OPERATIONS BEHIND DELAY IN GROUND INVASION OF GAZA

The U.S. and Europeans can invoke the snapback sanctions mechanism to restore the U.N. sanctions on Iran’s weapons procurement system. Yet Taleblu said the sanctions are set to expire "and the only way to stop it was through snapback, but that won’t happen because Europe and the U.S. are still wedded to the deal (JCPOA)."

He added, "As for context, Iran has given Russia drones not missiles [and is] likely waiting for this." And once the U.N. sanctions lapse, Iran will likely supply Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine in Ukraine, he said.

The lifting of U.N. restrictions on Iran’s missile apparatus creates a dangerous new war theater in the Middle East. Taleblu wrote, "The more confidence Tehran feels in its missile capabilities, the lower the bar for Iran’s overt use of force with these weapons. Similarly, the more Tehran believes in the deterrent power of its growing missile force, the bolder and more unconstrained it may become in its support for terrorism, assassination, and destabilization."

A considerable market demand for Iranian drones exists. Iranian regime military officials say that 22 countries seek to buy their drones. Israel believes that roughly 50 nations have an appetite for Iranian drones.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In July, the Iranian regime-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency reported that "Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani and his Bolivian counterpart Edmundo Novillo Aguilar signed the defense and security MoU." The AP reported in late July that Bolivia’s socialist government wants to obtain Iranian drone technology.

Fox News Digital reached out to Iran’s foreign ministry in Tehran and its U.N. mission in New York. The spokesperson for the United Nations General-Secretary Antonio Guterres did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital media query.

Reuters contributed to this report.