TEHRAN — Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian nuclear negotiator who now works as a researcher at Princeton University, believes the United States’ allies in the region regard the Iran nuclear deal as the greatest threat against themselves.

Mousavian cited the benefits of the nuclear deal, officially called the JCPOA, saying the opposition of the global Zionism, radicals in the U.S. and Takfiri Arabs toward the JCPOA is due to the deal’s benefits.

He made the remarks in an interview with IRNA published on Monday.

On the expiration of the UN arms embargo on Iran, the former diplomat said under international norms and regulations, Iran is now able to import and export weapons.

In an official statement on Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced the termination of the UN arms embargo in defiance of the United States’ failed efforts to extend the ban.

“Today is a momentous day for the international community, which in defiance of the U.S. regime’s efforts, has protected UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” the Foreign Ministry stated.

The ban was terminated under the terms of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that blessed the JCPOA between the Islamic Republic and six world powers.

The U.S. government, under President Donald Trump, suffered a humiliating defeat on August 14 as it failed to renew the arms embargo through a resolution at the UN Security Council. Russia and China voted against the motion and the remaining 11 council members, including France, Germany and the UK, abstained.

Mousavian pointed to the U.S. sanctions and said that the most horrific sanctions and pressures were imposed on Iran during the Trump administration.

“In the last few months, the Trump administration suffered two defeats at the international arena with regard to Iran, one on the arms embargo and the other on the triggering of the snapback mechanism to reimpose all the pre-JCPOA sanctions of the UN Security Council,” stated Mousavian who was Iran’s ambassador to Germany from 1990–1997.

He also predicted that the lifting of the restrictions on sale and purchase of weapons will not lead to military cooperation or sale and purchase of weapons between Iran and Europe.

“The Europeans still condemn the anti-JCPOA policy of the United States in words but will adhere to [the U.S.] in practice,” added Mousavian.

MH/PA