Iran summons ambassadors of 4 European countries
According to IRNA news agency, on September 12, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the British, Dutch, French and German envoys to Iran “following sanctions and unconstructive statements by European parties”.
On September 10, Britain, France and Germany announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s air transport industry in response to Tehran’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine.
In a joint statement, the three European countries said that “we will take immediate steps to terminate our bilateral air services agreements with Iran”, and said they also “aim to impose sanctions on Iran Air”.
On September 11, the Netherlands summoned the Iranian ambassador over information about supplying missiles to Russia, forcing Tehran to take retaliatory action.
During the meeting on September 12, the Iranian Foreign Ministry “strongly condemned the recent destructive actions and statements of European officials,” according to IRNA.
“The persistence of such positions and actions is considered a continuation of the West’s hostile policy towards the Iranian people,” the statement said.
Iran has denied transferring any weapons to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine and vowed to respond to the new sanctions. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani stressed that any allegations that Iran sold ballistic missiles to Russia were completely baseless and untrue.
On September 11, Britain summoned Iran’s envoy in London and warned that the Iranian government would face a “significant response” if it continued to supply missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine.
According to the US Treasury Department on September 10, Washington has also increased sanctions on Iran, including on Iran Air.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and was likely to use them in the war in Ukraine in the coming weeks.