Iran warns of effective measures if Europe yields to US pressure over arms embargo extension

Iran has warned it will take "effective measures" if European countries cave in to the US pressure aimed at extending an arms embargo on the Islamic Republic that is legally bound to expire under an international 2015 nuclear agreement.

News ID: 450437

Date: 13 July 2020 - 21:43

Rasa - "We have warned the European countries that if they give in to the US political and diplomatic pressures and trigger the restrictions, Iran has envisaged effective measures [to take in kind], but we hope that things would not end up like that," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in an interview with Tasnim News Agency on Saturday.

"We advise independent states not to make unwise decisions about international peace and security under the US pressure," he added.

He said the lifting of the arms embargo is Iran's legal right under the nuclear deal -- officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorses it.

Under the JCPOA, the restrictions imposed on the purchase and sale of arms should be lifted in October, the Iranian spokesperson added.

He noted that the US is spreading lies and waging smear campaigns against Tehran to prolong the ban, saying, "They (the Americans) seek to form a new consensus against us and portray the Islamic Republic as a factor disrupting security, but it is the US forces who are disrupting peace, stability and security in the region."

The US is currently exerting pressure on the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo against Iran as part of Washington’s so-called “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.

France, Britain and Germany -- the three European signatories to the JCPOA – have argued against the lifting of the arms embargo against Tehran, resonating the US claims.

Tehran, however, has firmly rejected Washington’s plans as the US is no longer a party to the nuclear deal ever since it withdrew from the multilateral agreement in 2018.

China and Russia, which are both signatories to the JCPOA, have echoed Tehran’s position.

The US recently served the UNSC with a draft resolution on extension of the arms embargo, with American Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft saying Washington will push the Council to vote on the draft as soon as mid-July.

Amid the US’ unashamed drive targeting the 2015 nuclear agreement, the United Nations secretary general has urged exhaustion of all possible means to prevent “destruction” of the historic accord.

“Our position in relation to the JCPOA has always been the same. We consider [that] the JCPOA was a very important step forward in relation to the question of nuclear proliferation,” Antonio Guterres told an online press conference on June 25 in response to a question posed by IRNA.

Iran says it will not remain indifferent and will show suitable reaction if the US tries to prevent lifting of the arms embargo against the Islamic Republic.

“The termination of the arms ban [on Iran] ... is one of the important achievements of the JCPOA and if Americans want to question this achievement, other big countries know what our reaction will be," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said last month.