While progress continues to be made on finalizing the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1, talks on the margins about exactly what sanctions will be lifted seem to be struggling, with Western officials declaring it “out of the question” to lift the embargo against Iran’s conventional military forces.
Iran is keen to see the embargo lifted, allowing the import and export of conventional weapons. Iran is arguing that much of the impetus behind the ban was false claims of Iran having a nuclear weapons program, and the conventional arms imports supporting that. With that question resolved by the deal, they believe the embargo should end.
Western officials are seeing the timing of the introduction, on the cusp of the latest US-imposed deadline, as an effort by Iran to split the P5+1 on the question, and probably not a serious effort to get these particularly concessions in the near term.
US officials are still expressing hope that the final nuclear deal can be reached by Wednesday at the latest, allowing them to present the “final accord” to Congress before the July 9 deadline which would give Congress only 30 days to approve the pact. The White House is said to believe the 30 day deadline would be better for them than the 60 days it becomes after July 9.
The solution for the "weapons issue" is so childishly simple that only obstruction by the West has prevented that solution. The so-called 5+1 all have conventional weapons and the 5 have nuclear tipped missiles to "defend themselves". What Iran will get is not even close to that of any of the 5. Hence the childishly simple solution is: after this nuclear treaty is signed Iran will petition the UN Security Council to lift the sanctions on non-nuclear weapons and every one of the "five" will assure Iran (if necessary in the treaty itself) that it will not veto the removal of the UN sanctions. Only Lithuania will vote no to spite Putin.
The true aim of the western powers is to keep Iran at their mercy. Their opposition to lifting the arms embargo is nothing but a sham. They really wish to deny Iran any self defense as a Sovereign state and to keep her weak as possible and in no position to mount any defense when they really decide to attack. And the war mongering hawks in congress will help see to that.