TEHRAN: Iran on Saturday denounced the European Union’s imposition of new sanctions on high-ranking officials and the Revolutionary Guards for supplying drones to Russia and its allies in Middle East.
The EU’s steps revealed on Friday target Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani and Esmail Qaani, the commander of the Guards’ foreign operations arm, the Quds Force, among others.
The EU’s sanctions also target an armed troops command center, the head of a state aviation company and the Kavan Electronics Behrad firm.
Iran’s foreign ministry described the move as “regrettable,” adding they were based on “repeated and baseless accusations and excuses.”
“The European Union (EU)… once again resorted to the obsolete and ineffective tool of sanctions against Iran,” according to Iran’s ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani.
The sanctions prohibit any EU citizen or firm from engaging in business with the listed people and organizations.
The US and its allies accuse Iran of providing fleets of drones to its partners in the Middle East. Ukraine and its Western allies also allege Iran of providing Russia with drones for use in the Ukraine conflict, a claim Iran denies.
