On Monday, the European Union levied penalties against well-known Iranian officials and organisations, including aviation companies, on the grounds that they were involved in the sale of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia for use against Ukraine.
The sanctions against seven organisations, including Iran Air, and seven people, including senior Quds Force members of the Revolutionary Guards and deputy defence minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari, were adopted by EU foreign ministers, the group said.
Along with the United States, major European nations Britain, France, and Germany imposed similar sanctions last month over Iran’s missile shipments to Russia.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the adoption of the sanctions by the entire bloc, while adding: “More is needed.”
“The Iranian regime’s support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is unacceptable and must stop,” she posted on X.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei rejected the sanctions as “unjustified and contrary to international law”.
“He also emphasised Iran’s inalienable right to have defence and military cooperation with other countries, including Russia,” Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.
With a post on X stating that the sanctions “send a clear message that the international community will not tolerate Iran’s dangerous actions, its support for terrorism, and its destabilisation of the region,” Israel, Iran’s worst enemy, applauded the action.
The EU’s actions also targeted two more Iranian airlines, Saha Airlines and Mahan Air, and two procurement companies that were held accountable for the “transfer and supply, through transnational procurement networks, of Iran-made UAVs and related components and technologies to Russia”.
Two businesses that provide fuel for rocket and missile launches are among the targets of the penalties.Those targeted are subject to an asset freeze and banned from travelling to the EU.
Iran disputes claims made by the West that it has given missiles to Russia so they can be used in Ukraine.
Numerous Russian military personnel have reportedly received training in Iran on the use of the 120-kilometer-range (75-mile) Fath-360 missile, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
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