Tehran: Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the UN’s long-term arms sales embargo on Iran expired early on Sunday under the landmark nuclear agreement in 2015.
“As of today, all restrictions on the transfer of arms, related activities and financial services to and from the Islamic Republic of Iran … are all automatically terminated,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to the UN resolution to enhance the 2015 nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and the world powers, the embargo on arms sales to Iran will gradually expire starting on Sunday, October 18.
“As of today, the Islamic Republic may procure any necessary arms and equipment from any source without any legal restrictions, and solely based on its defensive needs,” the ministry added in the statement sent out on Twitter.
It insisted that under the terms of agreements reached with the United States, China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union, “the purpose of lifting arms restrictions and travel bans is automatic and no other action is required.”
US President Donald Trump withdrew from the country in 2018 and has unilaterally imposed sanctions on Iran.
But Washington suffered a setback in August when it failed to win the support of the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo indefinitely.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday, “This is an important day for the international community.” He added that the world is standing with Tehran and “ignoring the efforts of the US regime”.
But it emphasized that “unconventional weapons, weapons of mass destruction and the upsurge to purchase conventional weapons have no place in Iran’s defense theory.”
Despite withdrawing from the transaction, the Trump administration insists that it is still a “participant” and therefore can continue to impose sanctions.
Washington stated that it has decided to unilaterally restore almost all sanctions on Iran that the United Nations lifted under the agreement.
However, the United States’ legal arguments have been rejected by almost the entire UN Security Council. The United States’ European allies have stated that the top priority is to find a peaceful solution to Iran’s nuclear program.
Moscow said in September that it was ready to strengthen military cooperation with Tehran, and Beijing also expressed its willingness to sell weapons to Iran after October 18.
Washington insists it will seek to prevent Iran from purchasing Chinese tanks and Russian air defense systems.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said in a tweet that the international community had “protected” the nuclear agreement, and Sunday marked the “normalization of cooperation between Iran and the world”.
