Limits on arms trade to be lifted by the end of October
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the limits on arms trade with Iran will be lifted by the end of October, reiterating that Iran has not been under arms embargo; but rather it faced restrictions for buying arms.
He made the remarks in a televised program late on Saturday while commenting on the US unilateral efforts to reinstate Washington’s sanctions against Iran.
It is clear is that all members of the Security Council, except the US and one other country, have officially declared that they do not recognize the US move.
France, Britain and Germany, known as E3, told the UN Security Council on Friday that UN sanctions relief for Iran – agreed under a 2015 nuclear deal – would continue beyond September 20, when the United States asserts that all the measures should be reimposed.
In a letter to the 15-member body, the three European parties to the nuclear deal and long-time US allies said any decision or action taken to reimpose UN sanctions “would be incapable of legal effect and so cannot bring into effect the procedure”, Reuters reported.
Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov welcomed the European statement, calling it “absolutely correct”.
“This goes without saying because US attempt to trigger snapback is null and void from legal and procedural viewpoints. There is practically consensus on this issue in the international community,” Ulyanov tweeted on Saturday.
US president plans to reinstate all United Nations sanctions against Iran as of Saturday night and has vowed to enforce them despite the fact that the vast majority of the Security Council has rejected US’ authority to reimpose the sanctions.
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