TEHRAN – Head of the Russian Federation’s Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation announced on Monday that his country is ready to export arms and ammunition to Iran after international arms embargo on Tehran would be lifted in 2020.

Dimitri Shugaev told Ria Novosti, “The Russian side is ready to hold talks with Iran regarding the expansion of cooperation (selling weapons) provided that any possible agreement between Tehran and Moscow would be implemented after removal of the international arms embargo on Iran.”

“Iran will possibly intend to purchase military planes, helicopters, tanks, warships, coastal defense sets, plane’s engines, armored passenger carriers, and submarines,” he added. 

Shugaev said that his country will deliver a batch of defense weapons, including a set of radio-technical reconnaissance packages to Iran. 

He went on to say that Moscow has not engaged in any negotiations with the Iranian side over the delivery of a more S300 air defense missile system. 

President Hassan Rouhani announced earlier this month that the UN arms embargo on Iran would end in 2020, which as the president said could be an outcome of staying in the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the JCPOA. 

“Dear Iranian people should know that thanks to the continuation of the JCPOA we will materialize a great diplomatic, defense and security objective in the next year,” the president told a crowd of people in the city of Rafsanjan, Kerman Province. 

Iran clinched an international agreement on its nuclear program with five permanent members of the UN Security, Germany and the European Union in July 2015. The agreement was endorsed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2231. However, in May 2018, the United States under President Trump, unilaterally abandoned the deal, thereby violating international law. 

Rouhani said, “(After the U.S. move) we had some choices. Some people told us ‘you pull out from the deal immediately. Some others told us ‘you must stay in the pact in any case and some told us that ‘you must pursue a middle path. We realized that pursuing the middle path will benefit us.”

Rouhani, who serves as the head of Supreme National Security Council, said, “Before the JCPOA, according to a United Nations resolution Iran was not allowed to import or export arms. Based on the said resolution as well as the United Nations Security Council resolution 2231, if we manage to save the JCPOA, arms embargo on Iran will be lifted and the country will be easily capable of selling and purchasing weapons which is one of the most important outcomes of the nuclear deal.”

MJ/PA