After thirteen years the UN’s arms embargo placed on Iran has now run its course and is gone….

As you would expect the warmonger-in-chief Pompeo is thumping his chest like some crazed primate….even to the point of issuing threats…..

After months of US opposition, the Iran arms embargo at the UN has expired, and despite the US opposition, UN officials are uniform in agreement that it actually has expired. Don’t tell that to the Trump Administration though, as they insist it’s still in place.

Reflecting US promises to enforce the non-existent embargo themselves, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened to impose US sanctions on any nations that sell arms to Iran, or offer them training or services.

That’s been the US position since they failed to extend the embargo, but it’s not clear it will actually do anything, as the nations most likely to provide Iran with arms and services, Russia and China, will almost certainly ignore US threats the same way they do on everything else Iran-related.

Iranian officials don’t expect a huge rush to buy arms anyhow, as a decade of embargos has made them self-sufficient in a lot of things. Still, Russia and China can offer some better versions of equipment, or at a better price than Iran can make them themselves, and there is no real legal obstacle to that anymore.

The fact that the US opposes, or indeed “forbids” such sales is likely to ensure that some happen just to spite them, with Russia in particular very clear that they intended to make sales to Iran once the legal restriction was lifted.

(antiwar.com)

Parties should weigh what this cessation would mean….

European governments should carefully weigh the risks that come with the expiration of the UN arms embargo. Given the ongoing Western military support to regional partners, and the growing alignment between Israel and the Arab world, the expiration of the embargo is unlikely to alter the balance of power in the Middle East in the short term. The pragmatic way to address these concerns is by reaching side agreements with Russia and China over the timing and scope of such arms sales to Iran, in ways that prevent a rise in tension in the Middle East.

No doubt, Moscow and Beijing will sign arms deals with Tehran – and perhaps even major ones, such as those involving the Russian S-400 missile defence system, which Iran is eager to acquire. Tehran may also seek to sign deals for battle tanks, fighter jets, surface-to-air missiles, and anti-radar missile systems – which can target surface-to-air defence systems, thereby putting the forces of the US and its allies at greater risk in the Middle East. However, given precedent and a series of political and economic restraints, it is unclear whether these deals would result in delivery in the near future.

Do not expect a rush of arms sales to Iran

Now that the embargo has expired….Iran is looking at incoming cash from arms sales…..

Iran on Monday said it is more inclined to sell weapons rather than buy them, after it announced the end of a longstanding UN conventional arms embargo.

Tehran said the ban imposed more than a decade ago was lifted “automatically” as of Sunday, based on the terms of a 2015 landmark nuclear deal with world powers, from which the Islamic republic’s arch-enemy the United States has withdrawn.

“Before being a buyer in the arms market, Iran has the ability to supply” other countries, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters.

Iran Says Will Sell More Arms Than Buy After Embargo Lifted

Will this make a difference in the Middle East say?

Will this put the brakes on troop withdrawals?

Any thought?

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