An arms embargo is a restriction or a set of sanctions that applies either solely to weaponry or also to "dual-use technology." An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes:
US President Jimmy Carter imposed an arms embargo on the military government of Argentina in 1977 in response to human rights abuses. [2]
An arms embargo was put in place, along with other economic sanctions by the European Economic Community (EEC), within a week of the 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentina, two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic. [3] The European nations ended the embargo after the end of the ensuing Falklands War, and Argentina looked to Western European countries and Israel for arms supplies during the US embargo until it was lifted in 1989. [2]
The US government imposed an arms embargo against Indonesia in 1999 because of human rights violations in East Timor. The embargo was lifted in 2005.
The United States imposed economic sanctions against Iran following the Iranian Revolution in 1979. However, to secure the release of American hostages, several senior Reagan administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran in the 1980s in a scandal called the Iran–Contra affair. [4] In 1995, the US expanded sanctions to include firms dealing with the Iranian government. [5]
In March 2007, UN Security Council Resolution 1747 tightened the sanctions imposed on Iran in connection with the Iranian nuclear program. The sanctions were lifted on 16 January 2016.
In September 2020, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the imposition of an arms embargo on the Iranian Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics and other entities involved in Iran's nuclear program, including the government of the disputed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for providing weapons to Iran. [6]
On 18 October 2020, Iran announced that the United Nations conventional arms embargo imposed on the country in 2007 had expired. The embargo had barred Iran from purchasing arms, including tanks and fighter jets, from foreign nations. The embargo was lifted as per the conditions under Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world leaders, despite US objections. [7] [8]
Since 7 October several countries such as Italy, Japan, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium have ceased the sale of weapons to Israel. [9] [10] Key US allies such as Britain and France are debating it. [11] However the United States and Germany as the major suppliers of Israel's arms imports keep supplying lethal weapons in spite of growing criticism of the mounting civilian casualties. [9] [10]
The United States and the European Union stopped exporting arms to China after 1989 after the violent suppression of protests in Tiananmen Square. In 2004 and 2005, there was some debate in the EU over whether to lift the embargo. [12] [13]
UN Security Council Resolution 418 applied an arms embargo of South Africa in 1977 on dual-use items. The embargo was lifted by Resolution 919 in 1994.
To protest the Vietnam War, Sweden imposed an arms embargo on the United States in 1966. [14] [ better source needed ] That notably deprived Navy SEALs of the Carl Gustav m/45 submachine gun, which resulted in the creation of the Smith & Wesson M76.
The countries included in the list are under arms embargo of the UN or another international organization such as the EU and the OSCE and others) or a country. In some cases the arms embargo is supplemented by a general trade embargo, other sanctions (financial), or travel ban for specific persons. In some cases, the arms embargo applies to any entity residing or established in the country, but in others. it is partial with the recognized government's forces and international peacekeepers being exempted from the embargo.
Economic sanctions or embargoes are commercial and financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of coercion that attempts to get an actor to change its behavior through disruption in economic exchange. Sanctions can be intended to compel or deterrence.
Iran has research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facilities that include three known uranium enrichment plants.
This is the timeline of the nuclear program of Iran.
The events of the first and second rounds of the Zimbabwean presidential election, which Robert Mugabe of ZANU-PF won on 27 June 2008 after his challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), withdrew from the process and declared it illegitimate, caused reactions from many international bodies. Other Zimbabwean groups have denounced the poll as well
The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is a multilateral treaty that regulates the international trade in conventional weapons.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874 was adopted unanimously by the United Nations Security Council on 12 June 2009. The resolution, passed under Chapter VII, Article 41, of the UN Charter, imposes further economic and commercial sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and encourages UN member states to search North Korean cargo, in the aftermath of an underground nuclear test conducted on 25 May 2009.
The P5+1 refers to the UN Security Council's five permanent members ; namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States; plus Germany. The P5+1 is often referred to as the E3+3 by European countries. It is a group of six world powers which, in 2006, joined together in diplomatic efforts with Iran with regard to its nuclear program.
There have been a number of international sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia, following Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1160, adopted on 31 March 1998, after noting the situation in Kosovo, the council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, imposed an arms embargo and economic sanctions on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, hoping to end the use of excessive force by the government.
Bilateral relations exist between Australia and Iran. Australia has maintained a continuous diplomatic presence in Iran since the Australian Embassy in Tehran was established in 1968. Iran has had an embassy in Canberra since September 1971.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement to limit the Iranian nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other provisions. The agreement was finalized in Vienna on 14 July 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 together with the European Union.
The Iran nuclear deal framework was a preliminary framework agreement reached in 2015 between the Islamic Republic of Iran and a group of world powers: the P5+1 and the European Union.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 was a 20 July 2015 resolution endorsing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the nuclear program of Iran. It sets out an inspection process and schedule while also preparing for the removal of United Nations sanctions against Iran. The 15 nations on the Security Council unanimously endorsed the resolution, which had been negotiated by the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—plus Germany, the European Union, and Iran.
During the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s and early 2000s, several rounds of international sanctions were imposed against the former Yugoslav republics of Serbia and Montenegro that formed a new country called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
International sanctions against Afghanistan were implemented by the United Nations in November 1999. The sanctions were initially aimed at terrorists, Osama bin Laden and members of Al-Qaeda. The United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union also impose sanctions on Afghanistan.
As a reaction to the ongoing conflict and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Somalia, the United Nations Security Council imposed an open ended arms embargo on Somalia in January 1992.
International sanctions against Syria are a series of economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland, mainly as a result of the repression of civilians in the Syrian civil war from 2011 onwards. The US sanctions against Syria are the most severe, as they affect third-parties as well, and amount to an embargo. U.S. secondary sanctions were limited until 2020 when the Caesar Act entered into force. The intent is to prevent the Syrian government from employing violence against its citizens and to motivate political reforms that could solve the root causes of the conflict.
Seven resolutions have been approved by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) relating to the nuclear program of Iran, although the only one currently in force is Resolution 2231, passed on 20 July 2015 endorsing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program. It sets out an inspection process and schedule while also preparing for the removal of United Nations arms sanctions against Iran. In August 2020, the U.S. released a proposal to extend the UN arms embargo on Iran in the UN.
The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 500 was approved on May 18, 1951, recommending a trade embargo on the People’s Republic of China and North Korea, in response to the intervention of Chinese troops in Korean War.