The US imposes new sanctions on Iran

The United States on September 10 imposed new sanctions on Iran in response to Tehran's military support for Russia, including recent allegations of deliveries of ballistic missiles for Moscow to use in its invasion of Ukraine.

The US Treasury Department has targeted ten individuals and six entities based in Iran and Russia with sanctions and identified four vessels as blocked assets that the Treasury says are helping Iran ship weapons components and weapons systems to Russia. The weapons, which the US said have been transferred, include drones and short-range ballistic missiles (CRBMs).

"At the end of 2023, Iran and Russia signed a contract for the supply of hundreds of missiles. In the summer of 2024, Russian military personnel were trained on the use of Iran's CBRM-type missiles by Iranian personnel," the Treasury said in a statement, adding that Russia had received the first shipment of such missiles from Iran earlier this year. the month.

The Treasury said that Iran Air - the state airline - is one of the sanctioned entities. According to Washington, its actions against this airline and other entities, individuals and ships are taking place simultaneously with actions being taken by international partners.

The announcement comes after the US and its key European allies accused Iran of dangerously escalating malign activities that threaten European security by supplying Russia with short-range ballistic missiles.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British counterpart David Lammy formally accused Iran of transferring missiles to Russia.

"Russia has already received shipments of these Iranian ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine, against the Ukrainians," Blinken said on September 10 in London.

The Kremlin has not yet reacted to Blinken's statement. A day earlier, Russia did not explicitly deny accusations that it has received Iranian missiles and instead highlighted cooperation with Tehran, saying it is developing dialogue in all areas.

Tehran denies supplying Moscow with missiles.

Even Germany has criticized Iran for supporting Russia's "war of aggression" against Ukraine, as the German Foreign Ministry said Iranian missiles could be used to attack European soil.

In a joint statement, France, Germany and Britain condemned the transfer of such weapons and described them as "escalation by Iran and Russia", adding that this escalation represents a "direct threat to European security".

Experts have said the short-range ballistic missiles could help Moscow in its fight against neighboring Ukraine. Russia, which has launched the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, already uses Iranian drones on the battlefield./ REL