Secretary of State John Kerry admitted Tuesday that Iran can purchase conventional weapons in violation of a current U.N. embargo without triggering snapback sanctions under the nuclear deal.
"If Iran violates the U.N. sanctions—the arms embargo, the restrictions on ballistic missile development—will there be a snapback of U.N. sanctions?" Reuters bureau chief Louis Charbonneau asked Kerry at an event hosted by the wire service.
"No," Kerry said. "Specifically, the arms embargo is not tied to the snapback; it is tied to a separate set of obligations. So they are not in material breach of the nuclear agreement for violating the arms piece of it."
The Iran deal—more accurately, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) considered by Congress—does not specify that the arms embargo is to be kept in place for five years. That stipulation only appears in the Security Council Resolution that affirmed the deal at the United Nations on July 20.
The U.N. resolution affirming the nuclear deal does not have the same enforcement mechanisms as the JCPOA, which means that Iran can effectively flout the arms embargo on day one without triggering consequences under the deal.
Reports indicate that Iran is already taking advantage of the loophole by shopping around for weapons despite the embargo.
Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani visited Russia, the second-largest arms exporter in the world after the U.S., just days after the nuclear agreement was reached. It has been speculated that this trip was meant to facilitate further arms sales between the two countries. Iran has shown interest in the S-300 air defense missile system made in Russia.
Some of the weapons purchased by Iran in violation of the arms embargo will likely make their way to Iran’s proxies and allies, which include the Assad regime in Syria and the terrorist group Hezbollah.