EU imposes sanctions on Iran’s shipping lines

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said that it had imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), its director Mohammad Reza Khiabani, and several other entities and individuals.

It added vessels, ports, and locks owned, operated, or controlled by those individuals and entities will be targeted by the sanctions, thereby prohibiting any transaction with them.

The EU claimed the individuals and entities have been involved in transporting Iranian-made Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), missiles, and related technologies and components to Russia to use in the war in Ukraine.

The sanctions come more than a month after the bloc imposed sanctions on Iran’s national airline Iran Air over the same claims.

Iran has repeatedly rejected accusations it has been supplying weapons to Russia for use in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said in a post on the X on Sunday that sanctions on the IRISL would backfire, adding that they would be against freedom of navigation as a basic principle of the law of the sea.

He stated the EU’s targeting of Iran’s transport systems and travelers showed its behavior toward Iran has no legal, logical, or moral basis.

The minister added that even the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself had confirmed that no Iranian ballistic missiles have been delivered to Russia.