March 20 (Reuters) – Switzerland said on Friday it would not issue licenses to companies exporting arms to the United States amid ongoing attacks on Iran, citing the country’s neutrality.
“Exports of war materiel to countries participating in international armed conflicts with Iran cannot be authorized during periods of conflict,” the government said in a statement.
“Exports of war materiel to the United States cannot be authorized at this time,” it added.
Over the weekend, the Swiss government said it rejected two U.S. requests to fly over Iran-related warplanes but allowed three other planes to do so, while also citing Switzerland’s neutrality law.
After the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Switzerland banned flights over Swiss airspace and banned arms exports to countries involved in the war. Later it lifted them up.
On Friday, the government said it had not issued new licenses to export war materials to the United States since the Feb. 28 Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran.
It noted that no clear license had been granted for the export of war materiel to Israel for many years.
The government said the expert group will regularly review the progress of exports of relevant goods to the United States. and assess whether neutrality legislation warrants measures.
(Reporting by Matthias Williams and Dave Graham; Editing by Thomas Settar)
