Tuesday, 22 September 2020_Russia has played down the US threat of sanctions over any arms trade with Iran following the expiry of a UN arms embargo that Washington failed to keep in place, saying such bans cannot stop the growth of Moscow-Tehran defense cooperation.
We are not afraid of US sanctions, we are used to them,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS news agency on Monday.
He also predicted that Moscow-Tehran defense ties will develop regardless of any US restrictive measures.
The US arms embargo on Iran “will not affect our policy in any way. Our cooperation with Iran is multifaceted, defense cooperation will progress depending on the two countries’ needs and mutual willingness,” he said. “Another executive order will not change our approach.”
Earlier, the administration of US President Donald Trump announced an executive order and new unilateral sanctions against Iran after an abortive push to reinstate UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic.