Iran (IMNA) - The decision was announced by the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg. Borrell said that the new sanctions would cover missiles and their potential transfer to Russia, as well as alleged supply of missiles to regional groups deemed to be allied to Iran.
"We have reached a political agreement in order to enlarge and expand the existing drone regime in order to cover missiles and their potential transfer to Russia," Borrell said. He added that the EU must do more work to develop a legal framework to prepare the ground for the implementation of the new sanctions on Iran.
The new sanctions come in response to an Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel in mid-April, which was meant to respond to Israel's bombardment of the Iranian consulate in Syria's Damascus on April 1. However, Iran has denied it has supplied drones or missiles to regional groups, and has reiterated that drones supplied to Russia were delivered to Moscow long before the Ukraine war started in February 2022.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has warned that any move to impose new sanctions on Iran following legitimate attacks on Israel would be viewed as a reward for the occupying Zionist regime. Kanaani said in a weekly press briefing that new EU sanctions on Iran will go down in history as a "shameful move."
The EU's decision to expand sanctions on Iran is likely to further strain relations between the two sides, which have already been strained over Iran's nuclear program and human rights record. The new sanctions are expected to target Iran's missile program, which has been a source of concern for the international community due to its potential use in delivering nuclear weapons.
Your Comment