![handle is hein.crs/govdarh0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
U.N. Ban on Iran Arms Transfers
p\w -- , gnmo,go
mppm qq\
, q
I
aS
11LULANJILiN,
Updated July 6, 2020
A 2015 multilateral Iran nuclear agreement (Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA), provides for
limits on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions
relief. The accord, endorsed by U.N. Security Council
Resolution 2231 (July 17, 2015), contains an annex (Annex
B) that provides for a ban on the transfer of arms to or from
Iran until October 18, 2020. The Trump Administration,
with the support of many in Congress, is seeking to
persuade other Security Council members to extend the ban
in order to prevent Iran from acquiring new conventional
weaponry, particularly advanced combat aircraft. Two key
potential arms suppliers of Iran Russia and Chinaare
veto-wielding members of the Security Council and oppose
an extension. Those two countries, as well as U.S. partners
in Europe, also oppose a U.S. plan to snap back all U.N.
sanctions if the Council refuses to agree to the arms ban
extension.
Annex B also contains a ban until October 18, 2023, on
supplying equipment that Iran could use to develop nuclear-
capable ballistic missiles, and it calls for Iran not to develop
ballistic missiles designed to carry a nuclear weapon. These
provisions are addressed in CRS Report RS20871, Iran
Sanctions, by Kenneth Katzman.
o,,f ahe .-,,o ., TBn-
Annex B of Resolution 2231 restated and superseded the
arms transfer restrictions on Iran in previous U.N. Security
Council resolutions. 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, and Resolution 1929 (June 9, 2010) banned
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 [ballistic or cruise missiles capable of delivering a
warhead or weapon of destruction to a range of at least 16
miles] or related materiel, including spare parts.... Annex
B permits the importation and exportation of such arms by
Iran if the U.N. Security Council provides advance approval
on a case-by-case basis. Such approval is unlikely;
officials in both the Obama and Trump Administrations
have consistently said they could not envision U.S.
approval of arms transfers to or from Iran. The arms
transfer ban expires on the earlier of: (1) five years after the
JCPOA Adoption Day (Adoption Day was October 18,
2015), or (2) upon the issuing by the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) of a Broader Conclusion that all
nuclear material in Iran remains in peaceful activities.
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. 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.
Russia delivered the system in November 2016. A State
Department spokesperson said in May 2016 that the sale
... is not formally a violation [of 2231] because the S-300
is for defensive uses only.
The U.S. government assesses that the ban on selling arms
to Iran has been 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, states that 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.
Figure I. Iran's Regional Allies
Source: Defense Intelligence Agency. Iran Military Power: 2019.
By contrast, the ban on Iranian arms exports has arguably
not been effective. According to the DIA report, which
represents a consensus U.S. judgment, Since the Islamic
Revolution, Iran has transferred a wide range of weapons
and military equipment to state and non-state actors,
including designated terrorist organizations.... Although
some Iranian shipments have been interdicted, Tehran is
often able to get high-priority arms transfers to its
customers. [See Figure 1.] Over the years, Iranian transfers
to state and non-state actors have included communications
equipment; small arms such as assault rifles, sniper rifles,
machine guns, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades
(RPGs) and ammunition; ... artillery systems, including
MRLs (multiple rocket launchers) and battlefield rockets
and launchers; armored vehicles; FAC (fast attack craft);
equipment for unmanned explosives boats; ... SAMs
(surface-to-air missiles); UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)
~fl:O~
......................i~~~ii~~ii~~~ii~~ii~~~ii~~ii
i~~~ ,: ...........~iiii~~~~iii~~~:!iii~~~iiii~~
....................... i~: i~: : i~~ii~~ii~~ii
...............................::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::
..:: :: ........::::::::: .........: ..::::::::
ROOM:: ?~' ~~~~~~~~~~iiiiiiiiiii~~~~:::~:::
..........:: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
........................x..:.+++++++++++++....
...........
.. .............
..............
................... . . ....
... ............
....................
.....................................
......................
......................
...........
.............
.... .......................... ............
..............................
........... % ...................
..............................................................
......................... .....................................
......................... .....................................
.......................
.......................
...............
............................. ..................................
.......................... -----,](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govdarh0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most