HIBAPRESS
On Friday, Switzerland decided to ban the export of military hardware to the United States during the ongoing war in the Middle East, in line with its doctrine of military neutrality.
Switzerland had already rejected previous American requests to fly in its airspace since the outbreak of the war on February 28, following American-Israeli strikes against Iran. Following that, the Swiss government discussed on Friday how to apply neutrality to exports to countries involved in the war. A government statement said, "A license cannot be issued that allows the export of military hardware to countries involved in the international armed conflict with Iran during the conflict." The statement continued, "Existing licenses and exports of other goods will now be subject to regular review by a joint group of experts from various departments, particularly with regard to their compatibility with the principles of neutrality." It added, "Licenses cannot currently be issued that allow the export of military hardware to the United States," noting that existing American licenses will be subject to regular review, while emphasizing that Switzerland has not issued licenses for the export of military hardware to Israel or Iran for years. Since the beginning of the conflict, Bern has not issued any new licenses for the export of military equipment to the United States, according to the government. The statement clarified that existing American licenses "are not relevant to the war, and can therefore continue to be implemented." However, a group of experts from the ministries of foreign affairs, defense, and economy will conduct a regular review of developments related to the export of the goods concerned to the United States and assess whether there is a need to take any action.
