Rouhani Hails Imminent End of Arms Ban Despite US Sabotage

EghtesadOnline: President Hassan Rouhani congratulated the Iranian nation on the success of the country’s diplomatic efforts to make the United Nations arms embargo void, in spite of the United States’ obstruction.

News ID: ۷۵۱۲۸۰

15 October 2020

“Ten years of cruel arms sanctions will be terminated next Sunday and we will have no weapons ban as of October 18,” he said in a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, President.ir reported.

This, according to Rouhani, is an outcome of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally referred to as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, even though it is in a bad shape today.

The US has pulled out of the deal and reimposed tough sanctions on Tehran since 2018. Iran, in response, has scaled back its commitments to restore balance between its rights and obligations.

Yet, it is agreed by the remaining parties and a majority of the United Nations Security Council member states that Iran’s weapons ban has to expire as per the terms of JCPOA and the UNSC Resolution 2231 that endorsed it.

Washington has been trying to prevent the removal of sanctions since US President Donald Trump came to power in 2017.

“You people know that we fought over this with the US for four years,” Rouhani said.

As its final attempt, the US presented a resolution to the UNSC on the indefinite extension of the ban, but the council refused to adopt the document.

Rouhani said it is thanks to “people’s resistance and Iranian diplomats’ hard work” that the US did not win the bid to prevent its expiration.

“As of Sunday, we will be able to sell our weapons to anyone we wish and buy weapons from anyone we want,” he said.

Rouhani’s confident voice signaled the country’s disregard for the US claim that all international sanctions have been reinstated as a result of its disputed activation of JCPOA’s snapback process.

After its failure to extend the arms ban, the US resorted to the process with no legal ground and claimed the UN sanctions have been automatically revived.

However, an overwhelming majority of the Security Council member states expressed their opposition in separate letters and refused to recognize the return of global sanctions against Tehran.