TEHRAN – Presidential chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi has said that the restrictions on Iran’s import and export of weapons will be lifted next week, describing the development as a “great success” for Iran.

“The restrictions that we had on exporting and importing weapons will be lifted next week,” Vaezi said on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, IRNA reported.

Vaezi said the lifting of the UN arms embargo was a great success, adding, “This embargo was imposed in 2010. The embargo has been in place for more than ten years and it will be lifted next week.”

Under the Iran nuclear deal, which is officially called the JCPOA, the UN arms embargo on Iran will expire on October 18. The U.S. has so far used everything in its power to prevent the expiration of the arms embargo. It has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for the extension of the arms embargo but the resolution was firmly rejected by thirteen of the 15-member UN Security Council. 

The U.S. also resorted to triggering the so-called “snapback mechanism” to reimpose all UN sanctions on Iran. That move failed miserably as well. The U.S. went on with the move despite firm opposition from all JCPOA parties and almost all UN Security Council members who said with one voice that the U.S. has lost the legal authority to trigger the snapback process after it withdrew from the nuclear deal on May 8, 2018.

On September 19, the U.S. unilaterally announced the return of all UN sanctions on Iran in a bid to extend the UN arms embargo but the international community rejected the move. However, the U.S. has threatened anyone violating the UN sanctions with unilateral punitive measures.

Vaezi reiterated that the lifting of the arms embargo was a great success for Iran against the U.S., which used all its power to extend the embargo but failed.

Then they tried to trigger the snapback mechanism but failed once again, he said, adding, “That was a big success as well.”

“Iran is not a country on which the U.S. can exert its will through its power and capabilities,” Vaezi added.

The deputy chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee also said Iran will soon enjoy the right to purchase and sell weapons, as the arms embargo on the Islamic Republic nears its end.

“In the years after the conclusion of JCPOA, the Islamic Republic of Iran acted in accordance with international regulations. However, a significant part of Iran’s privileges and rights has not been realized by JCPOA participant states,” Abbas Moghtadaei said, Mehr reported on Wednesday.

Moghtadaei said under the JCPOA, the arms embargo on Iran will end soon and Iran will be able to sell arms to interested parties, and in return, Iran will also be able to buy weapons and equipment that cannot be manufactured domestically.

“The United States has withdrawn from the JCPOA, and under no circumstances can it comment on issues related to Iran, including the end of arms embargo,” Moghtadaei remarked.

He added that Iran is an independent country that has always complied with its international obligations and can now implement the actions that are legal under international law.

The JCPOA, endorsed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, was signed between Iran, the United States, Britain, Germany, France, the European Union, Russia, and China on July 14, 2018. However, U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the deal on May 8, 2018 in pursuit of what it called the “maximum pressure” policy against Iran.

MH/PA