In a new round of sanctions against Iran, the European Council and the UK government announced on this Monday that they have imposed a series of new sanctions with the aim of targeting Iran’s shipping lines as well as state-owned Iran Air.
“The Council today decided to widen the scope of the EU framework for restrictive measures in view of Iran’s military support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and to armed groups and entities in the Middle East and the Red Sea region,” the European Council said in a statement Monday.
The council also explained in the statement that the new round of sanctions include “a prohibition on the export, transfer, supply, or sale from the EU to Iran of components used in the development and production of missiles and UAVs” and “a transaction ban prohibiting any transaction with ports and locks that are owned, operated or controlled by listed individuals and entities, or are used for the transfer of Iranian UAVs or missiles or related technology and components to Russia.”
“This measure includes the access to facilities of the ports and locks, such as Amirabad and Anzali, and the provision of any services to vessels,” the EU statement also said. Amirabad and Anzali are two Iranian ports on the Caspian Sea.
For its part, the British government announced the same day that it has decided to impose an “asset freeze” on Iran Air and IRISL plus “shipping sanctions” on the latter. “These measures [are issued] against both entities for their role in supporting the Iranian defense sector or transporting weapons to Russia for use on the battlefield in Ukraine,” the UK government said in a statement. “Iran’s attempts to undermine global security are dangerous and unacceptable,” British foreign secretary David Lammy said.
Both EU and UK noted in separate statements that the new sanctions were imposed due to “Tehran’s transfer of drones and ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine, as well as to Iranian proxies around the Middle East.”
Iran rejects UK-EU claims
The US has had similar sanctions in place against IRISL since 2020. Tehran, however, has repeatedly rejected accusations that it has been supplying weapons to Russia for use in the war with Ukraine.
Reacting to the new sanctions, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X this Tuesday that sanctions on the IRISL would “boomerang,” adding that “freedom of navigation is a basic principle of the law of the sea.”
Likewise, Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Tuesday that new EU and British sanctions are “based on false claims of missile transfers to Russia and are unjustified.” The new sanctions against Tehran come only a few days after US President-elect Donald Trump picked several anti-Iran hawks for his upcoming administration.
