London, Sep 10: The United States and Britain formally accused Iran on Tuesday of supplying short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to use in the war in Ukraine, and said they will take measures to punish those involved.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a visit to London, said Iran had ignored warnings that the transfer of such weapons would be a profound escalation of the conflict.
“Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine, against Ukrainians,” Blinken said. “The supply of Iranian missiles enables Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets that are further from the front line.”
Shortly after Blinken and Lammy spoke, the US, Britain and Germany issued a joint statement calling the missile transfers “a direct threat to European security”, and said they would impose penalties on Iran, including the cancelation of bilateral air services agreements with Iran and sanctions on individuals and entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile programme.
“We will also work towards imposing sanctions on Iran Air,” they said.
The US Treasury and the State Department in the past few years have already imposed economic sanctions on people and companies based in Iran, China, Russia, Turkiye and other nations who officials allege are connected with the development of Iran’s drone programme.
The sanctions on Iranian drone production tied to Russia’s invasion, which reach as far back as November 2022, were issued despite Iranian leaders’ denials that the country had sent drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine.
Among other things, sanctions bar people and firms from accessing property or financial assets held in the US and prevent US companies and citizens from doing business with them.
The new sanctions announcement came as Blinken and Lammy prepared to make a joint visit Wednesday to Ukraine, where they will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other senior officials to discuss bolstering the country’s defences. (AP)
