 "The United States and European partners say Iran has supplied Russia with missiles for use in the war on Ukraine (Photo: AFP)")
The United Kingdom, France, and Germany have announced sanctions against Iran over the supply of missiles to Russia.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the three countries said they would slap sanctions on Iran Air and also sanction entities and personnel associated with the supply of missiles.
The announcement comes shortly after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy that Iran has supplied Russia with ballistic missiles for use in the war on Ukraine. He dubbed it a “dramatic escalation” and said the United States will impose sanctions on Iran for the supply of missiles.
In a joint statement released by the German foreign ministry, the three countries’ foreign ministers said they strongly condemn Iran’s export and Russia’s procurement of Iranian ballistic missiles. They dubbed it a “direct threat to European security”.
The three nations comprising the ‘E3’ bloc said they would suspend air connectivity with Iran in response to the Iranian actions.
“We will be taking immediate steps to cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran. In addition, we will pursue the designations of significant entities and individuals involved with Iran’s ballistic missile programme and the transfer of ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia. We will also work towards imposing sanctions on Iran Air,” said the E3 nations in the statement.
In addition to missiles, Iran has also been supplying armed drones to Russia which have become a mainstay of the Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine.