EAER - Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of the Swiss Confederation

03/20/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/20/2026 05:20

Iran conflict: impact on war-relevant exports

Press releasePublished on 20 March 2026

Iran conflict: impact on war-relevant exports

Berne, 20.03.2026 - On 20 March, the Federal Council examined the implications of applying the principle of neutrality to exports to the states involved in the Iran conflict. The export of war materiel to countries involved in the international armed conflict with Iran cannot be authorised for the duration of the conflict. Existing licences and exports of other goods will now be regularly reviewed by an interdepartmental group of experts, particularly with regard to their compatibility with neutrality.

Following its meeting on 13 March regarding the applicability of neutrality to the war between the USA/Israel and Iran, and its decisions of 14 March on specific overflight requests, the Federal Council on 20 March addressed the issue of goods exports to the countries involved in the conflict.

Exports of war materiel to the USA cannot currently be authorised. As the USA is involved in an international armed conflict, the exclusion grounds under Article 22a para. 2 let. a of the War Materiel Act are met. Since the escalation of the conflict on 28 February, no new licences have been issued for exports of war materiel to the USA. No definitive licences for the export of war materiel to Israel have been granted for a number of years. The same applies to Iran. Existing licences have been determined to be of no relevance to the war at present and can therefore continue to be used. Nevertheless, an interdepartmental expert group (EAER, FDFA and DDPS) will regularly review developments in exports of the goods in question to the USA and assess whether any action is required under neutrality law.

Exports of dual-use and specific military goods subject to the Goods Control Act, as well as of non-controlled goods that are nevertheless affected by sanctions against Iran, will also be regularly reviewed by the expert group from now on. A restrictive approach is already in place with regard to Israel.

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The Swiss Federal Council

https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html

State Secretariat for Economic Affairs

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Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research

https://www.wbf.admin.ch/en

Topics

  • Foreign affairs: Foreign policy
  • Extraordinary situations, crises
  • Federal Council
  • Economic & Financial Centre
  • Economic & Financial Centre: Foreign economic affairs
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