Tehran denies weapons transfers and calls new sanctions ‘financial terrorism’.
Iran has condemned allegations by Western international locations that it has provided short-range missiles to Russia to be used in opposition to Ukraine and pledged to reply to new sanctions imposed by a trio of European states.
Ministry of Overseas Affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani, in a press release issued late on Tuesday, reiterated Iran’s denial that it has provided the weapons and known as the sanctions introduced by Britain, France and Germany “financial terrorism” in opposition to the folks of Iran.
He pledged that the three European international locations would face “applicable and proportionate motion”.
France, Germany and the UK introduced the sanctions earlier the identical day after the USA formally accused Iran of supplying the weapons to Moscow.
The measures revoke bilateral offers for offering air companies to Iran and impose sanctions on flag service Iran Air that can limit its means to fly to Europe.
“As well as, we are going to pursue the designations of serious entities and people concerned with Iran’s ballistic missile programme and the switch of ballistic missiles and different weapons to Russia,” the three European states stated.
The Iranian spokesman’s assertion didn’t point out related sanctions that have been introduced by the US.
“Any declare that the Islamic Republic of Iran has bought ballistic missiles to the Russian Federation is totally baseless and false,” Kanaani stated.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, talking alongside British Overseas Secretary David Lammy throughout a go to to London, stated Russia had obtained shipments of ballistic missiles from Iran and would “probably use them inside weeks in Ukraine”.
Warning that cooperation between Moscow and Tehran threatens wider European safety, he added that dozens of Russian army personnel had obtained coaching in Iran on utilizing the Fath-360 missile, which has a variety of 120km (75 miles).
Posting on X, Kanaani stated experiences on the alleged transfers have been “ugly propaganda” used to hide “massive unlawful arms assist of the USA and a few Western international locations for the genocide in Gaza”.
Iran is already some of the closely sanctioned international locations on this planet, and a few consultants have questioned the influence of extra financial penalties that may damage the nation’s center lessons greater than its leaders.