US Plans Sanctions Against Iran for Alleged Missile Shipments
The US plans to impose sanctions on Iran's national airline due to accusations that Tehran has been providing Moscow with ballistic missiles. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Tehran has rejected claims of providing Moscow with short-range ballistic missiles.
In response to allegations that Iran supplied missiles to Russia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that new sanctions will be implemented against Iran. He referred to Tehran’s allegations as “psychological warfare.”
Blinken stated to reporters that Iran has dispatched an unspecified number of Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.
“We’ve warned Tehran publicly, we’ve warned Tehran privately, that taking this step would be a dangerous escalation,” he expressed. “Russia has now received shipments of these missiles, and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine.”
The new sanctions will be revealed later on Tuesday, with Iran Air, the national airline, being among the targeted entities, according to Blinken.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the missile deliveries last Friday, which was confirmed by an EU representative on Monday, followed by Blinken’s remarks on Tuesday.
Iran firmly denies these accusations. “No missile was sent to Russia and this claim is a kind of psychological warfare,” stated senior military commander Fazlollah Nozari to Iranian media on Monday. “Iran does not support any of the parties to the Ukraine-Russia conflict,” Nozari asserted.
“We strongly reject the claims of Iran’s role in exporting arms to one side of the war,” emphasized Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani later that day. “Iran’s accusers are the ones who are among the biggest arms exporters to one side of the war.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not categorically refute the allegations. “We have seen this report; it is not every time that this kind of information is true,” he commented to RIA Novosti on Monday.
“Iran is our important partner, we are developing our trade and economic relations… including the most sensitive areas. And we will continue to do this in the interests of the peoples of our two countries,” he continued.
The US has maintained sanctions on Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, with the economic blacklist now encompassing approximately 5,000 Iranian individuals and entities. Some pre-existing sanctions regarding Iranian aerospace and weapons firms are linked to Tehran's purported supply of kamikaze drones to the Russian military.
Tehran similarly denies selling its ‘Shahed’ drones to Russia, asserting that only a limited number of self-destructing UAVs were sent to Moscow prior to the conflict in Ukraine. Russia claims that its ‘Geran-2’ kamikaze drones, which closely resemble Iran’s ‘Shahed-136’ craft, are produced domestically.
The US has also accused North Korea of supplying artillery shells to Russia, while alleging that China has provided so-called ‘dual-use’ components—tools and electronics with both civilian and military applications.
Mark B Thomas contributed to this report for TROIB News
In response to allegations that Iran supplied missiles to Russia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that new sanctions will be implemented against Iran. He referred to Tehran’s allegations as “psychological warfare.”
Blinken stated to reporters that Iran has dispatched an unspecified number of Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.
“We’ve warned Tehran publicly, we’ve warned Tehran privately, that taking this step would be a dangerous escalation,” he expressed. “Russia has now received shipments of these missiles, and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine.”
The new sanctions will be revealed later on Tuesday, with Iran Air, the national airline, being among the targeted entities, according to Blinken.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the missile deliveries last Friday, which was confirmed by an EU representative on Monday, followed by Blinken’s remarks on Tuesday.
Iran firmly denies these accusations. “No missile was sent to Russia and this claim is a kind of psychological warfare,” stated senior military commander Fazlollah Nozari to Iranian media on Monday. “Iran does not support any of the parties to the Ukraine-Russia conflict,” Nozari asserted.
“We strongly reject the claims of Iran’s role in exporting arms to one side of the war,” emphasized Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani later that day. “Iran’s accusers are the ones who are among the biggest arms exporters to one side of the war.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not categorically refute the allegations. “We have seen this report; it is not every time that this kind of information is true,” he commented to RIA Novosti on Monday.
“Iran is our important partner, we are developing our trade and economic relations… including the most sensitive areas. And we will continue to do this in the interests of the peoples of our two countries,” he continued.
The US has maintained sanctions on Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, with the economic blacklist now encompassing approximately 5,000 Iranian individuals and entities. Some pre-existing sanctions regarding Iranian aerospace and weapons firms are linked to Tehran's purported supply of kamikaze drones to the Russian military.
Tehran similarly denies selling its ‘Shahed’ drones to Russia, asserting that only a limited number of self-destructing UAVs were sent to Moscow prior to the conflict in Ukraine. Russia claims that its ‘Geran-2’ kamikaze drones, which closely resemble Iran’s ‘Shahed-136’ craft, are produced domestically.
The US has also accused North Korea of supplying artillery shells to Russia, while alleging that China has provided so-called ‘dual-use’ components—tools and electronics with both civilian and military applications.
Mark B Thomas contributed to this report for TROIB News
