Ukraine’s parliament approves sanctions against Iran

The measures were approved on Monday, a day after Ukraine said Russia used Iranian-made Shahed drones in the largest such attack on the capital, Kyiv, since the beginning of the war.

“The resolution synchronises Ukrainian sanctions with the actions of the entire civilised world on the path to the complete isolation of Iran,” the Ukrainian parliament said on its website.

The new regulations include a ban on exports of “military and dual-use goods” to Iran and the “suspension of economic and financial obligations in favour of residents of Iran”.

The package would also stop Iranian goods transiting through Ukraine and it planes through Ukraine’s airspace as well as imposing trade, financial and technology sanctions against Iran and its citizens.

The legislation still needs to be signed into law by President Volodymyr Zelensky, which is a formality because the Ukrainian leader submitted the bill himself.

Zelensky last week appealed directly to Iranians, asking: “Why do you want to be accomplices in Russian terror?”

Tehran struck back, calling Zelensky’s comments a “political show” that had no value.

“This repeat of empty claims by the Ukrainian president against the Islamic Republic of Iran means going along with the anti-Iranian media war that is done with the goal of receiving more arms and financial help from Western countries,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said on Saturday.

Both Iran and Russia have repeatedly denied claims that Tehran has provided Moscow with drones to be used in the Ukraine war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in November dismissed media controversy over Iran’s alleged support for Russia in the Ukraine war, adding, however, that Tehran had provided Moscow with a limited number of drones months before the war in Ukraine.

He also assured that Iran will not be indifferent if it is proven that Russia has used Iranian drones in the conflict.