Tehran denies weapons transfers and calls new sanctions ‘financial terrorism’.
Iran has condemned allegations by Western nations 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 an announcement 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 nations would face “acceptable and proportionate motion”.
France, Germany and the UK introduced the sanctions earlier the identical day after the US 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 may limit its potential to fly to Europe.
“As well as, we’ll 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 mentioned.
The Iranian spokesman’s assertion didn’t point out comparable sanctions that had been introduced by the US.
“Any declare that the Islamic Republic of Iran has offered ballistic missiles to the Russian Federation is totally baseless and false,” Kanaani mentioned.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, talking alongside British Overseas Secretary David Lammy throughout a go to to London, mentioned Russia had acquired 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 acquired coaching in Iran on utilizing the Fath-360 missile, which has a spread of 120km (75 miles).
Posting on X, Kanaani mentioned stories on the alleged transfers had been “ugly propaganda” used to hide “giant unlawful arms help of the US and a few Western nations for the genocide in Gaza”.
Iran is already some of the closely sanctioned nations on the earth, and a few specialists have questioned the affect of extra financial penalties that may harm the nation’s center lessons greater than its leaders.
