Iranian President Hassan Rouhani exulted Oct. 14 over a soon-to-come moment of triumph as a UN arms embargo on his country is set to expire Oct. 18.

“Thanks to the nation’s resistance and our diplomats’ efforts, and despite America’s push in the past four years, this unjust embargo is to be lifted,” he said of the removal, which has been made legally possible under UN Resolution 2231 and the 2015 Iran nuclear deal also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The United States, which walked away from the JCPOA in 2018, launched a diplomatic campaign in August for an extension of the Iran arms embargo. The UN Security Council, however, did not accept the US proposal.

“As of Sunday [Oct. 18], we can purchase or sell arms from and to anyone we desire,” Rouhani said in his televised speech on the “US failure.” Also, in a message for critics at home, he lauded the embargo expiry as a key achievement of his administration and a significant outcome of the JCPOA, a fragile accord that has been sliding down to the cliff’s edge since the US pullout.