Iran’s foreign minister has denounced the United States as the world’s leading weapons seller, saying Washington’s excessive arms exports undermine global peace.
In a tweet on Thursday, Mohammad Javad Zarif reacted to a stunning timelapse video dubbed ‘The United States of Arms’, which went viral earlier this week, depicting the massive flow of American exports of military equipment to different continents over the last 67 years.
The video was created by data scientist, Will Geary, based on statistics compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)’s Arms Transfers Database — which contains information on all transfers of major conventional weapons from 1950 to the most recent full calendar year.
“US destabilizes the world with arms exports, draining budgets that could be used for a brighter future,” Zarif tweeted, adding, “Yet its arms can’t even secure its citizens: 35% of global military spending failed to stop 15 Saudis from murdering & injuring >9000 Americans on 9/11.”
Earlier this week, the US State Department announced that President Donald Trump had given the green light to its plan for boosting American weapons sales.
The so-called “Buy American” plan, which had been prepared at Trump’s request, raised controversy at home, with senior lawmakers warning that such a measure would make it more likely that weapons of US origin “will end up in the hands of traffickers, terrorists, and cartels.”
Source: Press TV
