UN arms embargoes on Iran expire despite US objections

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (Hadi Mizban/AP)

A decade-long UN arms embargo on Iran that barred it from purchasing foreign weapons like tanks and fighter jets expired on Sunday as planned under its nuclear deal with world powers, despite objections from the United States.

While insisting it planned no “buying spree”, Iran can in theory now purchase weapons to upgrade military armaments dating back to before its 1979 Islamic Revolution and sell its own locally produced equipment abroad.