Iran to Continue Supplying Friends with Arms if Necessary

(FNA)- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi underlined that the nuclear agreement inked by Tehran and the world powers doesn’t include any contents related to Iran's weapons and missile power, adding that the country will continue arms assistance to its regional allies.

"We have told them (the Group 5+1 - the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) in the negotiations that we will supply arms to anyone and anywhere necessary and will import weapons from anywhere we want and we have clarified this during the negotiations," Araqchi told the state TV on Monday night.

Stressing that the nuclear agreement doesn’t include any paragraphs related to Iran's weapons and missile power, he reminded that based on the agreement, the contents of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 are two separated things.

Araqchi underlined that Iran will do anything necessary to safeguard its national security, and said, "We will take any necessary action to maintain and expand our defensive capabilities, safeguard our independence and sovereignty and help our regional allies to fight against terrorism."

"We are not ready to even negotiate on our security and defensive issues, let alone compromising them," he underscored.

Araqchi also referred to the Foreign Ministry's Monday statement after the UNSC approved a resolution on Iran, and said that the statement emphasized that "our missiles have not been designed for carrying Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs)" and are, thus, something different from what has been stated in the Resolution 2231.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry in a statement yesterday ensured that the country's ballistic missile program and capability is untouched and unrestricted by the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) unanimously endorsed a draft resolution turning into international law the JCPOA reached between Iran and the G5+1 group of countries over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program on Monday.

Minutes later, the Iranian foreign ministry issued a rather lengthy statement, where it stressed Tehran's resolve to contribute an active role in war on terrorism and promotion of peace and stability in the region.

The statement ensured that "Iran will continue its pioneering role in campaign against terrorism and violent extremism", including its cooperation with the neighboring states.

"In addition, the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue making the necessary arrangements and plans to reinvigorate its defensive capabilities to protect its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity against any kind of aggression as well as its confrontation with the threat of terrorism in the region," it added.

"Within this framework, Iran's military capabilities, including its ballistic missiles, are exclusively for legitimate defense; these equipment have not been designed for the capability to carry nuclear payloads and thus, fall outside the scope and the jurisdiction of the UNSC resolution and its annexes," the Iranian foreign ministry statement stressed.

All 15 members of the UNSC voted for the draft UN resolution in New York on Monday, setting the stage for the lifting of Security Council sanctions against Iran.

The text of the draft UN resolution calls for the “full implementation” of the Vienna agreement “on the timetable established,” and urges UN member countries to facilitate the process.

Iran and the six world powers struck a final agreement in Vienna last Tuesday to end a 13-year-old nuclear standoff.

In relevant remarks on Monday, renowned political analyst Dr. Mohammad Marandi said that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told him in Vienna last week that Iran would continue to supply arms to the regional nations even under a final nuclear deal.

"When we were in Vienna, the Arab reporters asked me if Iran would continue arms aids to its regional allies under the final deal, and when I asked Mr. Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, the question, he told me that Iran would continue the arms supply policy," Marandi, a Tehran University Professor, said.

"Mr. Zarif told me that Iran would continue its arms aid to the regional nations and he told me that it would be in violation of the UN Security Council resolution (that was adopted earlier today), but it would not be in opposition to the agreement (also known as the Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action)," he reiterated adding that Zarif had not asked him to remain unnamed when reflecting the answer to the reporters.