TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has congratulated the international community over defiance of “malign U.S. efforts” to extend an arms embargo on Iran, which officially came to an end on Sunday.

“A momentous day for the international community, which— in defiance of malign US efforts—has protected UNSC Res. 2231 and JCPOA,” Zarif tweeted on Sunday morning.

“Today’s normalization of Iran’s defense cooperation with the world is a win for the cause of multilateralism and peace and security in our region,” he added.

Under the historic 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the UN Security Council’s ban on trade in conventional weapons against the Islamic Republic ended on Sunday. 

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.

Ghalibaf: ‘Weak-minded’ U.S. government suffered significant defeat

In remarks on Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf described the termination of the embargo as a significant defeat for the “weak-minded” government of the United States and a victory for the Iranian nation.

“This is undoubtedly a significant failure for the weak-minded U.S. government and its powerless and isolated president, who, despite the illegal attempt to activate the snapback mechanism, was ridiculed by the international community and failed to address the issue,” Ghalibaf said, according to Mehr.

“To turn this U.S. defeat into a strategic achievement for the Iranian nation, important steps must be taken in a proportionate and deterrent reaction to further U.S. pressure, as well as the sale and purchase of weapons,” the senor lawmaker suggested. 

The speaker added that Iran has important days ahead and it is necessary to follow the guidelines of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to overcome the people’s problems.

Iran can export arms to other countries, says ambassador

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the Vienna-based international organizations, said with the termination of the ban, Iran has put on its agenda the act of arms cooperation with other countries.

“Naturally, given the high capacities and knowledge of Iran in production of different weapons, we can export them to other countries,” Gharibabadi told IRNA.

He said no one is able anymore to refer to sanctions as a pretext to seize weapons of Iranian origin in other countries.

“From now on, governments cannot refer to bans or binding international restrictions in that regard when it comes to arms deals or even the existence of weapons of Iranian origin in other countries,” he said.

The ambassador pointed out that the U.S. resorted to whatever means it could to prevent the termination of the embargo.

“The U.S. initially put pressure on UN Security Council member states to make them adopt a new resolution to extend the restrictions, but failed and suffered a major defeat,” he explained.

“Afterwards, the U.S. made every effort, on its own, to activate the mechanism to bring back former UN Security Council sanctions, which again faced opposition from the member states of the council,” Gharibabadi added.

He further said the arms ban termination was an important development, adding that Washington’s failure to portray Iran as a security problem and move forward with its unilateral measures among its allies at the UN Security Council led to its isolation.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will closely monitor the U.S.’s behavior and measures in that regard, and will take the necessary action in accordance with the existing mechanisms if the lifting of the arms ban faces any obstacles in practice,” he remarked.

MH/PA