The European Union has imposed new sanctions on entities supplying Iranian drones to Russia that use them to strike Ukraine, the Czech presidency of the EU reported in a tweet today.
“Iran sanctions in record time! After 3 days of talks, EU ambassadors agreed on measures against entities supplying Iranian drones that hit Ukraine. Written procedure is over, sanctions come into force this afternoon on publication in the Off. Journal,” the tweet reads.
“EU states decided to freeze the assets of 3 individuals and 1 entity responsible for drone deliveries; the EU is also prepared to extend sanctions to 4 more Iranian entities that already featured in a previous sanctions list,” another tweet elaborated.
#COREPERII | ✅ #Iran #sanctions in record time! After 3 days of talks, EU ambassadors agreed on measures against entities supplying Iranian drones that hit #Ukraine. Written procedure is over, sanctions come into force this afternoon on publication in the Off. Journal. #EU2022CZ pic.twitter.com/Fjqaqz7mfj
— EU2022_CZ (@EU2022_CZ) October 20, 2022
Meantime, Russia is threatening U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that it will reassess cooperation with him if he sends experts to Ukraine to inspect drones that Western powers say were made in Iran and used by Moscow in violation of a U.N. resolution, according to Reuters.
In the wake of a closed-door U.N. Security Council meeting on Moscow’s use of drones, Russia’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy called on Guterres and his staff to “abstain from engaging in any illegitimate investigation.”
“Otherwise, we will have to reassess our collaboration with them, which is hardly in anyone’s interests. We do not want to do it, but there will be no other choice,” he told reporters.
Photo: REUTERS/Vladyslav Musiienko
