Iran’s defense industries have the capacity to export billions of dollars of military equipment after the expiring arms embargo is lifted in October based on the 2015 nuclear deal, said the Head of the Iranian Defense Ministry’s Marine Industries Organization.
“We have the capacity of exporting billions of dollars of military equipment in a year in all military and some non-military fields,” Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari told reporters on Thursday commenting on the volume of Iran’s defense trade in the aftermath of the removal of the UN arms embargo.
He made the remarks on the sidelines of an exhibition of the latest achievements of Iran’s defense industries kicked off in Tehran earlier on Thursday morning, Mehr News Agency (MNA) reported.
UN arms embargo against Iran is set to be lifted in October as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The United States faced a humiliating defeat at the UN Security Council when its struggled to extend the sanctions for an unlimited period failed after it only gained one ‘yes’ vote by the Dominican Republic on August 21 and other 13 members of the 15-seat council opposed Washington’s bid arguing that the move is void given US is using a process agreed under a nuclear deal that it quit two years ago.
Washington withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and reinstated its unilateral economic sanctions against Iran in defiance of Resolution 2231 that endorses the JCPOA.
The remaining members of the landmark nuclear deal convened in Vienna, Austria, on September 1, to hold a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission. At the end of the meeting, they announced that they will side with Iran and work to ensure the implementation of the nuclear deal.
“Important to see that participants are united in resolve to preserve the #IranDeal and find a way to ensure full implementation of the agreement despite current challenges,” Secretary-General of the European External Action Service Helga Schmid tweeted after the Joint Commission meeting in Vienna.