The European Union to Sanction Individuals and Entities Related to the Transfer of Ballistic Missiles from the Islamic Republic to Russia

The European Union will soon announce sanctions against individuals and entities related to the transfer of ballistic missiles from the Islamic Republic to Russia. Reuters reported on Friday, October 20, citing a senior EU official, that the Union will present the first package of these sanctions at a meeting of foreign ministers of its member states on Monday, October 23. Previously, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries condemned the transfer of ballistic missiles from the Islamic Republic of Iran to Russia in the strongest terms in a joint statement on Saturday, September 24. They noted that Russia is using Iranian weapons to kill Ukrainian civilians and target the country's critical infrastructure. They also warned that they remain committed to holding the Iranian government accountable for its illegal support of Russia's illegal war against Ukraine and will respond with 'new' and 'significant' actions. The United States has also imposed various sanctions against individuals and entities supporting the Islamic Republic's missile and drone activities. As global concerns about the expanding military cooperation between the two countries have increased nearly three years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the increasing cooperation between Tehran and Moscow during a meeting in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Friday, October 20. In this meeting, Putin referred to the 'active' cooperation between Russia and the Iranian government, stating that the two countries' assessments of current global events are 'often very close.' Raisi did not mention the controversial and costly military support of the Islamic Republic for Russia's aggression in Ukraine. Following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, the Islamic Republic has provided thousands of suicide drones to Putin's forces, which have been used to attack civilian infrastructure and Ukrainian citizens. Recently, despite repeated warnings from the international community, the Iranian government sent hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia. In response to the Islamic Republic's military cooperation with Russia, the United States and the European Union have imposed several sanction packages against Iranian individuals and entities involved in developing these relations.