Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that he will take “whatever measures are necessary” to thwart Iran from acquiring more weapons in wake of the expiration of the UN arms embargo against Israel’s archenemy on Sunday despite US objections. “We must be stronger and more determined than ever in light of the expiration of the arms embargo on Iran today,” Gantz stated. “Iran has never been just an Israeli problem but first and foremost a regional and global problem.” “As defense minister, I will continue to take whatever measures necessary, together with our partners, both old and new, to prevent Iranian expansion and armament. All countries should join this important effort.” Today is the day that the global arms embargo on Iran is set to expire. If the world allows Iran to import conventional weapons, it will only use them to fuel regional and global terror. We cannot reward Iran's dangerous behavior. pic.twitter.com/Oijg4bUIBW — Embassy of Israel (@IsraelinUSA) October 18, 2020 A decade-long U.N. arms embargo on Iran that barred it from purchasing foreign weapons like tanks and fighter jets expired Sunday as planned under its nuclear deal with world powers, despite objections from the United States, which insists the ban remains in place. While Iran says it plans no “buying spree,” it can now in theory purchase weapons to upgrade military armaments dating back to before its 1979 Islamic Revolution and sell its own locally produced gear abroad. In practice, however, Iran’s economy remains crippled by broad-reaching U.S. sanctions, and other nations may avoid arms deals with Tehran for fear of American financial retaliation. The Trump administration has warned that any sales of weapons to Iran or exports from Iran will be penalized. The Islamic Republic heralded the end of the arms embargo as “a momentous day for the international community … in defiance of the U.S. regime’s effort.” The Trump administration, meanwhile, says the expiration is moot since it reimposed all U.N. sanctions on Iran, including the arms embargo, via a clause in the nuclear deal Trump withdrew from in 2018, a claim ignored by the rest of the world. “Today’s normalization of Iran’s defense cooperation with the world is a win for the cause of multilateralism and peace and security in our region,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flatly rejected the expiration. “The United States is prepared to use its domestic authorities to sanction any individual or entity that materially contributes to the supply, sale, or transfer of conventional arms to or from Iran, as well as those wto ho provide technical training, financial support and services, and other assistance related to these arms,” he said in a statement. “For the past 10 years, countries have refrained from selling weapons to Iran under various U.N. measures,” Pompeo said. “Any country that now challenges this prohibition will be very clearly choosing to fuel conflict and tension over promoting peace and security.” Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, responded to Pompeo with a tweet urging the U.S. to help Middle East peace by not provoking Iran. “And please change words ‘sanctions’ and ‘punishment’ in your vocabulary to ‘dialogue’ and ‘engagement’. That would help a lot! Make US respected again!”, he added. Sunday’s expiration of the arms embargo was, in fact, […]
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