The EU foreign ministers approved the imposition of sanctions today at a meeting in Luxembourg. Iran’s national airline, Iran Air, as well as Saha Airlines and Mahan Air, were also targeted.
The goal of punitive measures is to target companies, institutions and persons involved in the production and supply of ballistic missiles. All will now face asset freezes at 27 and individual persons will be banned from traveling to European Union countries. Also, no one may directly or indirectly provide them with financial resources.
The sanctions include “individuals and entities responsible for the development and transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), missiles and related technology to Russia in support of its war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as other armed groups and entities that undermine peace and security in the Middle East and Red sea,” reads the statement of the Council of the EU.
Newly on the sanctions list are three Iranian airlines and two other companies involved in the supply of Iranian-made drones to Russia. The other two sanctioned companies are involved in the production of propellants used for launching rockets. Among the individuals is, for example, the deputy minister of defense of Iran or representatives of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
“The situation in the region is quite dramatic, we see a whole series of escalations. The Iranians are puppeteers of various military and terrorist groups there, and it is necessary to continue to draw attention to the fact that it is unacceptable for them to worsen the security situation in the region in this way,” said the Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský.
The United States already said in September that Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran for its military campaign in Ukraine. At the same time, Washington imposed sanctions on ships and companies involved in the supply of these weapons.
Source: zpravy.tiscali.cz
