The European Union is preparing a package of sanctions targeting Iran for supplying Russia with ballistic missiles, Bloomberg reported on 4 October, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to Bloomberg, the initial set of measures is expected to affect approximately a dozen individuals and entities, including engineering, metals, and aviation companies.
The EU aims to approve these sanctions before leaders convene for a summit in Brussels later this month.
This move follows assessments by US and European officials that Iran delivered ballistic missiles to Russia in March.
The reported missile transfer has already prompted punitive measures from the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
While Iran has previously supplied Moscow with hundreds of attack drones and other weaponry during Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, the provision of ballistic missiles represents a significant escalation in Tehran’s involvement, Bloomberg notes.
Tehran, however, denies sending missiles to Russia.
Despite this denial, Ukraine’s armed forces claimed last week that they had destroyed a weapons stockpile in Russia that included Iranian missiles.
The proposed EU sanctions come in response to these developments and aim to address Iran’s alleged role in supplying advanced weaponry to Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on 24 September for immediate action to counter Russia’s growing military cooperation with Iran, North Korea, and China to promote peace in Ukraine, reports Ukrinform.
The New York Times reported earlier in September that North Korea continues to supply Russia with short-range ballistic missiles in defiance of sanctions. The markings on the Hwasong-11 missile used in the 18 August attack on Kyiv indicated that it was manufactured this year.
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