No Restriction in Arms Trade After UN Sanctions Expiration

A top Iranian diplomat said Iran will freely trade weaponry with any country it sees fit once the United Nations arms embargo expires in October. 
The UN sanctions are set to expire in October as per Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers. 
Iran’s ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali had said earlier that arrangements have already been made with Moscow for the import of military equipment and defensive armament.
“No matter with Russia or China, neighboring or far-off countries, we will act according to the norms of the market with no restriction,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said at a regular press briefing on Monday, IRNA reported.
He stressed that although Iran is among the producers of various weapons, it is entitled as an independent country to buy and sell arms like any other good.
The United States which has abandoned the nuclear deal and reimposed tough sanctions on Iran is now running a campaign to prevent the expiration of the embargo by pressing other members of the Security Council to vote for its extension. 
Russia and China have already expressed their opposition while the European Union has remained silent. 
The US draft resolution would need five votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, France and Britain to be adopted.

Free Trade Rights

The diplomat later pointed to the arrival of Iran’s fuel shipments to Venezuela despite Washington’s threats, stressing that Iran will protect its rights even in faraway locations. 
“What has happened in our view is legitimate trade between two countries that are entitled to free trade, but the US has not accepted this since it is used to bullying and unilateralism,” he said.  
Defying US threats, Iran has sent a flotilla of five tankers of fuel to the South American oil-producing nation, which is suffering from a gasoline shortage. Both Iran and Venezuela are under American sanctions. 
According to Refinitiv Eikon on Sunday, two Iranian tankers that delivered fuel to Venezuela as part of the flotilla have begun to sail back, Reuters reported. 
Washington has warned governments, seaports, shippers and insurers that they could face measures if they aid the tankers.
“Iran practices its free trade rights with Venezuela and we are ready to send more ships if Caracas demands more supplies from Iran,” Mousavi said. 

Strong Reaction

Mousavi later said that Iran is evaluating the potential technical impacts of the US recent termination of sanctions waivers that allowed foreign firms to cooperate in Iranian nuclear programs. 
“If these sanctions affect Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, we react strongly,” he said. 
He noted that these sanctions target the countries that assist in Iranian programs, hoping they will show a more serious response against the US “bullying”. 
The waivers covered foreign cooperation in the conversion of Iran’s Arak heavy water research reactor, the provision of enriched uranium for Tehran Research Reactor and the transfer of spent reactor fuel abroad. 
The US so-called maximum pressure campaign is aimed at forcing Iran to renegotiate a new deal. Iran has refused to enter any talks unless all sanctions are lifted. 
The new speaker of Iranian parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said on Sunday that the legislature is opposed to any negotiation or compromise by the government with the US and deems it “futile and harmful”.  
Mousavi said the government carries out the general policies of the country which are reviewed and approved by the Supreme National Security Council and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution after being developed in relevant organizations. 
“We heard the viewpoints of the Majlis as the representative of the people and will put them into practice as a duty if they become law,” he said.