US says to target Iran with new sanctions over “missile transfer to Russia”

“Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine against Ukrainians,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in London on Tuesday.

Blinken, speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a visit to London, added that sanctions would be announced later Tuesday.

Lammy, for his part, called the supply of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia a “significant escalation”.

France, Germany and the United Kingdom have also issued a joint statement, saying they strongly condemn “Iran’s export and Russia’s procurement of Iranian ballistic missiles”.

The three European states added that this is “a further escalation of Iran’s military support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine” and will see “Iranian missiles reaching European soil, increasing the suffering of the Ukrainian people”.

“This act is an escalation by both Iran and Russia, and is a direct threat to European security.”

“The E3 has privately and publicly been clear that we would take new and significant measures against Iran if the transfers took place. We now have confirmation that Iran has made these transfers,” the statement reads.

“We will be taking immediate steps to cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran. In addition, we will pursue the designations of significant entities and individuals involved with Iran’s ballistic missile programme and the transfer of ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia. We will also work towards imposing sanctions on Iran Air,” Paris, Berlin and London noted.

“The E3 are closely coordinating our strong response to these transfers with our European and international partners. We call on Iran to immediately cease all support to Russia’s war against Ukraine and halt the development and transfers of its ballistic missiles.”

The remarks came hours after White House national security spokesman John Kirby stated that Washington cannot confirm reports that Tehran had delivered its ballistic missiles to Moscow.

CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing unidentified sources, that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, as Moscow continues to wage the war in Ukraine more than two and a half years after its 2022 invasion.

A senior Iranian official denied the reports on Monday, describing them as “psychological warfare”.

Deputy Commander of Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Fazlollah Nozari was quoted by the Iranian Labour News Agency as saying: “No missile was sent to Russia and this claim is a kind of psychological warfare.”

“Iran does not support any of the parties to the Ukraine-Russia conflict,” Nozari added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also said he had seen the report but that not all such reports were correct.

“Iran is our important partner, we are developing our trade and economic relations, we are developing our cooperation and dialogue in all possible areas, including the most sensitive ones,” Peskov told reporters on Monday.