Retaliatory Measures If Arms Ban Extends; Iran Warn Europe
Retaliatory Measures If Arms Ban Extends; Iran Warn Europe
Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned there would be “effective” retaliatory measures if the European states gave in to the US pressures for extending a UN arms embargo on Iran.

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned there would be “effective” retaliatory measures if the European states gave in to the US pressures for extending a UN arms embargo on Iran that is going to expire in October.

Speaking to Tasnim News Agency, Seyyed Abbas Mousavi denounced the US attempts to prevent the termination of the arms embargo on Iran.

In recent months, Washington has drummed up the rhetoric for the extension of a UN arms embargo on Iran, which will expire in October under the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorses Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“We have warned the European countries that if they give in to the political and diplomatic pressures from the US and trigger those restrictions, Iran has planned effective measures, but we hope that things would not end up like that.”

The spokesman also urged the independent states not to make “unwise decisions” about international peace and security under the US pressures.

Last Tuesday, Iran’s government spokesman Ali Rabiei urged European countries not to continue the policy of appeasement of the US, according to IRNA.

Speaking at a weekly press conference, Rabiei said that all the European countries know that the policy of appeasement of the US is a failed policy because the US demands know no boundaries.

“We expect the Europeans not to continue this policy. By doing so, they are endangering the JCPOA and international peace, and further undermining Europe’s credibility as an independent actor”, he said.

He stressed that the Islamic Republic is concerned about the stance taken by the three European countries (Britain, Germany, and France) in the recent United Nations Security Council meeting on the issue of Iran arms embargo.

The United States has formally asked the 15-member Security Council to extend the UN embargo, which is set to expire on October 18 under the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which enshrined the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

On June 30, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for the arms embargo on Iran to be extended indefinitely, but his appeal fell flat at the United Nations Security Council, where Russia and China rejected it outright and close allies of the US were ambivalent.

“We recall that the EU embargoes on conventional arms exports and missile technology will remain in force until 2023,” three European signatories to the Iran nuclear deal – Britain, France, and Germany – said earlier.

Russia and China have said they oppose the US move and have questioned Washington’s right to use a disputed legal move to force a return of UN sanctions on Iran.

“Having quit the JCPOA, the US is no longer a participant and has no right to trigger a snapback at the Security Council,” Chinese envoy Zhang Jun told the Security Council session.

The US unilaterally pulled out of the nuclear agreement in May 2018 and illegally reimposed sanctions as part of what it calls a “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran.

Washington has claimed that it can trigger a “snapback” mechanism on UN sanctions and the arms embargo because it is still a signatory to the agreement in 2015.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Security Council the removal of arms restrictions was “an inseparable part” of the nuclear deal.

“Any attempt to change or amend the agreed timetable is thus tantamount to undermining Resolution 2231 in its entirety,” he said.

 

  • source : Iran Daily, Irannews