Iran criticises EU shipping sanctions, denies sending missiles to Russia

Tehran says the European sanctions undermine Iranians’ fundamental rights by targeting airlines and shipping.

Tehran, Iran – Iran has condemned European sanctions on its state-run shipping company and other entities, saying they were based on “fake claims” that it sent ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the Ukraine war.

“The actions of the European Union and the United Kingdom in imposing sanctions against Iran under this pretext are entirely unjustifiable and lack any legitimacy, legal basis, or logical foundation,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in a statement on Tuesday.

The EU and the UK on Monday widened their punitive financial measures against Iran, targeting the use of vessels and ports for “the transfer of Iranian-made Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), missiles and related technologies and components”.

The sanctions included freezing the assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL).

The Iranian spokesman said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “has admitted that no Iranian ballistic missiles have been exported to Russia”.

Zelenskyy said in late October that Iran has not yet delivered ballistic missiles to Russia, but is engaged in “in-depth talks” around potential deliveries.

He also said Iran has already licensed the production of explosives-laden Shahed drones on Russian territory, a charge Tehran denies.

If delivered, the Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles could potentially be deployed on the Ukrainian front lines and help Russia better manage its offensive on Ukrainian soil.

Baghaei said the sanctions, including those last month that cut off Iranian airlines from Europe, affect the “fundamental rights and interests of Iranians”.

The designations run counter to commitments under Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that the United States unilaterally abandoned in 2018, the spokesman said.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who was in Tehran to hold high-level talks including with President Masoud Pezeshkian, had last week described the nuclear deal as “an empty shell”.

Meanwhile, tensions between Iran and the West continue to rise as Tehran says it will launch a third major attack against Israel in retaliation for Israeli air strikes on Iran in October.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a meeting of military commanders and personnel that what prevents war is being prepared for war with full strength.

“The enemies who make threats are waiting for weakness from the other side, if they see any weakness they will take advantage. So it is imperative to stand strong during times of war,” Araghchi said in a speech posted on his Telegram channel on Tuesday.

On Monday night, Mohammad Javad Zarif, an adviser to the president, released a video in English to directly address Jewish people around the globe.

“Standing on the wrong side of history, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his regime, along with Israel’s Western enablers, have unleashed a machinery of death and destruction in the region, causing carnage and crimes against humanity in a genocidal campaign that murdered over 50,000 civilians, including over 10,000 children,” the former chief diplomat said.