Iran promises to respond to Western sanctions over the delivery of Russian missiles.Tehran refers to fresh penalties as “economic terrorism” and disputes any arms transfers. Iran has vowed to react to fresh sanctions imposed by three European states and denounced claims made by Western nations that it has given Russia short-range missiles for use against Ukraine.
Abbas Araghchi, Tehran’s minister of foreign affairs, said on Wednesday that the US and its allies are acting based on “faulty intelligence” and that Iran has not sent ballistic missiles to Russia.
The sanctions imposed on the Iranian people by Britain, France, and Germany were dubbed “economic terrorism” the day before by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani, who also promised that the three European nations would be subject to “necessary and proportionate action.”
The sanctions were officially declared by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom that same day, following formal accusations by the US that Iran was providing the weapons to Moscow.
The actions put penalties on Iran Air, the flag carrier, which will limit its capacity to travel to Europe, and terminate bilateral agreements for the provision of aviation services to Iran.
The three European powers added, “We will also work on designating important organizations and individuals associated with Iran’s ballistic missile program and the transfer of ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia.”
Similar US penalties were not mentioned in the statement from the Iranian official.
“It is entirely unfounded and untrue that the Islamic Republic of Iran has supplied ballistic missiles to the Russian Federation,” declared Kanaani.
In a post on X, Araghchi stated, “Once again, US and E3 operate on incorrect intelligence and wrong logic.”
“Those who are addicted to sanctions ought to ask themselves: how is Iran able to produce and allegedly sell sophisticated weapons? Sanctions [are] a part of the issue, not a solution.
But since Moscow began its invasion in February 2022, Tehran and Moscow have become closer, with Iran providing Russia with its Shahed drones.
During a visit to London on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated that Russia had acquired ballistic missile shipments from Iran and would “probably use them within weeks in Ukraine.”
Claiming that cooperation between Moscow and Tehran poses a threat to broader European security, he also mentioned that numerous Russian military personnel had trained in Iran to operate the 120-kilometer (75-mile) Fath-360 missile.
The most senior Iranian diplomat in London, the charge d’affaires, was called by Britain’s foreign ministry on Wednesday.
The foreign ministry released a statement saying, “The UK Government was clear in that any supply of ballistic missiles to Russia would be considered as a hazardous escalation and would face a serious response.”
“Ugly propaganda” to hide “huge illegal arms support of the United States and several Western countries for the genocide in Gaza,” according to Kanaani, who posted on X about the purported transfers.
Since Iran is already among the nations with the most sanctions in place, several analysts have questioned the significance of more sanctions.
