Secretary of Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei says the stances adopted by the US and the European Union on the removal of the arms embargo on Iran are not binding and will not prevent Tehran from buying conventional weapons after the ban expires.
In an interview with Aljazeera TV on Wednesday night, Rezaei said that a UN arms embargo on Iran is going to end soon, stressing that after lifting of the embargo, nobody could prevent Iran from purchasing conventional weapons.
Under the 2015 nuclear deal, from which the US unilaterally withdrew last year, a UN ban on weapons sales to Tehran will end in October 2020.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed that the US will not allow Iran to purchase conventional arms after UN sanctions expire in October.
Rezaei also criticized certain Arab states for paying ransom to the US, saying those countries oppose whatever plan and initiative proposed by Iran and insist on hostility toward the Islamic Republic.
He said that the Trump administration, which is the world’s largest arms dealer, is concerned about the end of Iran’s arms embargo and tries to claim to be still a participant of Iran nuclear deal so as to be able to somehow extend the embargo.
Any impartial observer will confirm that the US attempt in this regard has no legal ground, Rezaei underlined.
Asked about any potential war between Iran and the US, Rezaei said Iran will never start a war with the US but has made it clear that if Washington wages a war, it will be Tehran which decides when to end it.
Underlining that All American military bases across the region are under surveillance, Rezaei warned if Iran’s national security is put in jeopardy, those bases will be hit with missiles.
His words came after US President Donald Trump claimed last week that he had instructed the US Navy to destroy Iranian boats if they harass US ships in the Persian Gulf.