NATO Allies Punish Iran for Russia Support With Vast New Sanctions

The European Union and the United Kingdom have vastly tightened sanctions on Iran as punishment for the Middle Eastern country’s support for Russia in the war with Ukraine.

The new penalties, which come as the war hits 1,000 days, include asset freezing, prohibitions on exports, limits on shipping, and more.

The E.U. and the U.K. announced on November 18 that the moves were the result of Tehran sending ballistic missiles and drones to Russia, which the Iranian government denies.

Newsweek reached out to the Council of the European Union and the U.K.’s Foreign Office for comment via email, and to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London.

The U.K. and the E.U. have made their support for Ukraine very clear since the beginning of the war, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron met recently to rally more support for the war-torn country from President Joe Biden before he leaves office.

Since February 2022, the E.U. has provided economic, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine worth more than €88 billion ($93 billion), and the U.K. has pledged £12.8 billion (16.18 billion) to Ukraine, mainly toward military assistance.

Announcing the sanctions, the Council of the European Union said in a statement: “The Council today decided to widen the scope of the E.U. framework for restrictive measures in view of Iran’s military support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and to armed groups and entities in the Middle East and the Red Sea region.

“This additional measure is targeted to the use of vessels and ports for the transfer of Iranian-made Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), missiles and related technologies and components. Today’s decision introduces a prohibition on the export, transfer, supply, or sale from the E.U. to Iran of components used in the development and production of missiles and UAVs.”

Other sanctions set to be imposed by the E.U. include a ban on transactions with “ports and locks that are owned, operated or controlled by listed individuals and entities, or are used for the transfer of Iranian UAVs or missiles or related technology and components to Russia,” in addition to individual sanctions against people and specific Iranian entities.

The U.K. government said in a statement: “Today’s sanctions follow action taken previously, alongside international partners, whereby the U.K. sanctioned key Iranian and Russian individuals and organizations for their role in facilitating Iran’s military support to Russia, including Russian cargo ships that transporting military supplies from Iran to Russia.

“To date, the U.K. has sanctioned more than 450 Iranian individuals and entities, including those that seek to use malign influence regionally and internationally. The U.K. has also sanctioned 2,100 individuals and entities under the Russia sanctions regime, with over 1,900 designated since the start of Putin’s full-scale invasion.”

“The U.K. is clear that Iran must stop supporting Putin’s unprovoked, premeditated and barbaric attack against a sovereign democratic state, and that we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

The U.K. is also freezing the assets of the Iranian international airline, Iran Air, which will include restricting “its direct, scheduled commercial air services to and from the U.K.” The increased penalties follow an earlier ban on Iran flights in September.

Iran’s state-owned shipping carrier, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), will also be sanctioned by the U.K, along with the Russian cargo ship PORT OLYA-3, for their roles in transporting weapons to Russia.

U.K. Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “This government stands firmly with the people of Ukraine and we have been clear that any support for Russia’s illegal war will not be tolerated.” She added: “We will continue to use every lever at our disposal to put pressure on Iran to end the transfer of ballistic missiles and bring an end to this needless destruction.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi criticized the moves by the E.U. and U.K. in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on November 18, saying: “President Zelensky himself has confirmed that no Iranian ballistic missiles have been delivered to Russia. Yet, the E.U. refuses to reverse its indiscriminate targeting of air travelers by going after Iranian airlines-a measure ostensibly motivated by our nonexistent missile deliveries to Russia.”

“Now, the E.U. is using the same nonexistent missile pretext to also target our shipping lines. There is no legal, logical or moral basis for such behavior. If anything, it will only compel what it ostensibly seeks to prevent. Freedom of navigation is a basic principle of the law of the sea. When selectively applied by some, such shortsightedness usually tends to boomerang.”

Although the U.S. has not imposed any new sanctions, the Department of Treasury previously designated “ten individuals and six entities based in Iran and Russia” in September for enabling “Iran’s delivery of weapons components and weapons systems, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and close-range ballistic missiles (CRBMs), to Russia.”