![handle is hein.crs/govcaex0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
U.N. Ban on Iran Arms Transfers
February 14, 2020
Annex B of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 (July
17, 2015), which enshrined the multilateral Iran nuclear
agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA),
provides for a ban on arms transfers to or from Iran until
October 18, 2020. Although major arms suppliers have
apparently not violated the restriction by transferring major
combat systems to Iran, U.S. officials and U.S. and U.N.
reports assert that Iran has not abided by the ban on arms
transfers to its allies. The Trump Administration and many
in Congress advocate a Security Council extension of the
arms transfer ban, but two key potential arms suppliers of
Iran Russia and China are members of the Security
Council and oppose Trump Administration policy on Iran.
Annex B also contains a ban, until October 18, 2023, on
supplying equipment that Iran could use to develop nuclear-
capable ballistic missiles, and a nonbinding ban on Iran's
development of ballistic missiles designed to carry a
nuclear weapon. These missile-related provisions are
addressed separately in CRS Report RS20871, Iran
Sanctions, by Kenneth Katzman.
Annex B of Resolution 2231 continued similar restrictions
in previous U.N. Security Council resolutions on Iran.
Resolution 1747 (March 24, 2007) contained a ban on
Iran's transfer of arms from its territory and required all
U.N. member states to prohibit the transfer of Iranian arms
to their nationals. Resolution 1929 (June 9, 2010) contained
a ban (Resolution 1747 had a voluntary restriction) on the
supply to Iran of any battle tanks, armoured combat
vehicles, large calibre artillery systems, combat aircraft,
attack helicopters, warships, missiles or missile systems as
defined for the purpose of the United Nations Register of
Arms or related materiel, including spare parts.... These
restrictions are restated in Annex B of Resolution 2231,
which supersedes all previous Security Council resolutions
on Iran, although Annex B permits the importation and
exportation of such arms by Iran if the U.N. Security
Council provides advance approval of such transfers on a
case-by-case basis. Such approval is virtually impossible;
both the Obama and Trump Administration officials have
consistently said they could not envision U.S. approval of
such sales or transfers.
The Iran arms transfer ban in Resolution 2231 is temporary;
it applies until the date that is five years after the JCPOA
Adoption Day (Adoption Day was October 18, 2015, 90
days after the passage of Resolution 2231). The restriction
would expire earlier than the five-year period if the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were to issue
a Broader Conclusion that all nuclear material in Iran
remains in peaceful activities. The IAEA has neither
announced such a conclusion nor a timetable for reaching it.
U.S. and other Security Council member officials widely
interpret the restriction as inapplicable to the sale to Iran of
systems for purely defensive purposes. For example, in
2007, Russia agreed to the sale to Iran of the S-300 air
defense system, with a reported estimated value of about
$800 million. The two governments reportedly disagreed
later over certain terms and the system's delivery date, but
Russia delivered the system in November 2016. A State
Department spokesperson said in May 2016 that [w]hile
we're opposed to the sale, it is not formally a violation
because the S-300 is for defensive uses only.
Figure I. Iran's Regional Allies
Source: Defense Intelligence Agency. Iran Military Power: 2019.
Ezff~fects, <A' the a,
The U.S. government assesses that the arms transfer ban to
Iran has been only partially effective. According to
Appendix J of the congressionally mandated Defense
Intelligence Agency (DIA) annual report on the military
power of Iran for 2019, released in November 2019, Iran
wants to purchase new advanced weapon systems from
foreign suppliers to modernize its armed forces, including
equipment it has largely been unable to acquire for
decades. The report adds that once the U.N. ban on arms
sales to Iran expires, Iran will be permitted to purchase
conventional systems it is unable to produce domestically,
such as advanced fighter aircraft and main battle tanks. Iran
is already evaluating and discussing military hardware for
purchase primarily from Russia and, to a lesser extent,
China. According to the report, Iran's potential
acquisitions after the lifting of UNSCR 2231 restrictions
include Russian Su-30 fighters, Yak-130 trainers, and T-90
MBTs (main battle tanks). Iran has also shown interest in
acquiring S-400 air defense systems and Bastian coastal
defense systems from Russia. The report does not say that
Iran has obtained any major combat systems from foreign
suppliers since the ban went into effect. For information on
the composition of Iran's forces, see Figure 2.
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