EU FMs agree to expand Iran sanctions over retaliatory attacks

“We have reached a political agreement in order to enlarge and expand the existing drone (sanctions) regime in order to cover missiles and their potential … transfer to Russia,” Borrell told reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

The sanctions would also be expanded beyond Russia to cover drone and missile deliveries not only to Russia but also to proxies in the region, he added.

Iran has repeatedly dismissed baseless claims that it supplied Russia with weapons to be used in the war in Ukraine.

Tehran has also stressed regional armed groups do not take orders from Iran, nor does the Islamic Republic have a role in their decisions to carry out military operations against the US and Israel, and rejected unfounded claims about delivering weapons to them.

The EU’s decision came after Tehran targeted the occupied territories with a barrage of drones and missiles in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of several Iranian military advisors in Syria.

Earlier Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaaani cautioned that the EU would be “rewarding the aggressor” if it slapped such measures against Tehran.

“Should they take [such] measure, it would go down in Europe’s history as a reprehensible action,” he added.

He reminded the EU that its previous sanctions against Iran had failed to hinder the country’s progress.

“The policy of sanctions is a failed policy,” Kanaani said, advising the bloc to “learn from the past”.