Switzerland stops arms exports to the United States due to attacks on Iran

As the genocidal Israel and its ally the United States jointly launched an invasion of Iran, Washington and Tel Aviv are increasingly isolated. One after another country is turning its back on them. Even long-tested allies are not agreeing to cooperate against Iran. This time, another European country, Switzerland, has also been added to this list.

Switzerland said on Friday (March 20) that it will not grant licenses to companies to export arms to the United States due to the ongoing war with Iran. In this case, the country cited its long-standing policy of neutrality as the reason.

In a statement on Friday, the country's government said that arms exports to countries involved in an international armed conflict with Iran cannot be approved during this conflict.

It also said that it is currently not possible to allow arms exports to the United States.

The announcement came in the context of the three-week-long US-Israeli vs. Iran war. This war has already created an extreme humanitarian crisis across the Middle East and increased fuel prices on the world market. The Swiss government had previously decided to close its airspace to US military flights directly linked to the Iran war.

Last week, the country rejected two US requests for overflights over Iran, although it allowed three others under the neutrality law. A Swiss federal law passed in 1996 requires licenses for the import, export and transport of weapons and related technology, based on the principles of human rights and neutrality.

Switzerland said that no new export licenses had been issued for the US since the start of the Iran war on February 28. The government also noted that no final licenses for arms exports had been issued to any country — Israel or Iran — in the past few years.

Existing licenses for the US will now be regularly reviewed by a panel of experts to see if any action is needed under the neutrality law. The panel will also regularly review exports of dual-use and certain military goods.

According to official data, the United States was the second-largest importer of Swiss weapons last year, with sales worth $119 million (94.2 million francs). Switzerland had previously blocked the delivery of Swiss-made equipment to Ukraine, which was fighting a Russian invasion, through its allies in 2022.

In addition, during the Iraq War in 2003, the country imposed a ban on flights over its airspace and arms exports to the countries concerned, which was later lifted.

Source: Al Jazeera.