Iran has categorically dismissed Western countries’ accusations that it provided short-range missiles in shipment to Russia to use in Ukraine. Tehran has assured that it will take all the necessary measures regarding the new sanctions issued by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Araghchi, said on Wednesday that the allegations are taken from ‘fabricated intelligence’ by the United States and its allies. The day before, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, called sanctions ‘economic terrorism’ for the Iranian people and threatened the European nations.
The sanctions that were announced by the three European countries were in response to the accusations made by the U. S that Iran supplies weapons to Russia. These measures involve canceling bilateral open-sky agreements with Iran and placing restrictions on Iran Air, thus making it difficult for the airline to conduct flights to Europe. The European states also have plans to designate major actors and persons associated with Iran’s ballistic missile program.
Kanaani denied any information about Iran exporting ballistic missiles to Russia as all these allegations are baseless, faulty intelligence constructed by the U. S. and the European countries.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow and Tehran have deepened their cooperation, especially in the delivery of Shahed drones to Russia. Recently, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was concerned by the cooperation between the two nations for the sake of European security based on Iranian military reporting of training Russian personnel.
Kanaani described the allegations as “ugly propaganda” while emphasizing that the focus should be on the support of arms supply given by the U.S. and its allies in the context of the ongoing conflicts in Gaza. Iran is among the most sanctioned countries in the world, and scholars still debate its capacity to endure additional measures of quantitative sanctions.
