Iran denounced on Saturday the fresh sanctions the European Union imposed on top officials and the Revolutionary Guards for providing drones to Russia and its allies in the Middle East.
The head of the Guards’ external operations division, the Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, and Iran’s defense minister, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, are among the targets of the EU’s sanctions, which were announced on Friday.
The head of a state aircraft company, the Kavan Electronics Behrad company, and an armed forces command center are also the targets of the sanctions.
The foreign ministry of the Islamic republic called the action “regrettable” and claimed that it was the result of “repeated, absurd, and baseless excuses and accusations.”
Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani stated in a statement, “The European Union… once again resorted to the antiquated and ineffective tool of sanctions against the powerful Iran.”
Any EU citizen or firm is prohibited by the penalties from doing business with the individuals and organizations on the list.
Iran is accused by the United States and its allies, including Israel, of supplying drone fleets to its allies in the Middle East, particularly the Houthi rebels in Yemen and the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah.
Iran disputes accusations made by Kiev and its Western allies that it supplied Russia with drones to use in the conflict in Ukraine.
