Image created by A.I
Two weeks ago, Iran condemned the imposition of Western sanctions on a number of its entities and affiliates, due to allegations by the United Kingdom and European Union member states that it had “transferred ballistic missiles to Russia” to support its war in Ukraine, calling the accusations baseless and false.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was the first to make this allegation on September 9, 2024, after which the European Union and the United Kingdom expanded their financial sanctions against Iran, targeting its ports and ships involved in the transfer of Iranian technologies such as drones, short-range tactical missiles, long-range missiles and their components.
While the United States continues to highlight Iran’s delivery of short-range tactical missiles to Russia, the European Union and the United Kingdom have said that this poses a direct threat to Europe’s territorial integrity and security, opening the door to more severe sanctions that could impose stricter restrictions on civil aviation, including sanctions on Iran’s national airline.
Iran continues to deny these allegations, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declaring them false and based on fake intelligence, although this is the second time Iran has been accused of transferring missiles to Russia.
In the first half of 2022, the UK highlighted a possible transfer of missiles to Russia with an international media outlet publishing detailed allegations of such transfers in February 2024, which were quickly followed by other reports on the subject, which Iran has categorically denied.
Despite these repeated denials, evidence suggests that Iranian military support to Russia has increased significantly since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In particular, experts within the Western intelligence community point to compelling evidence of Russia’s extensive use of Shahed drones against Ukrainian infrastructure, and that these Iranian-provided technologies have served as a major force multiplier for Russia’s forces, which undoubtedly still face challenges in transporting and delivering equipment to its forces, and remain technically inferior on the battlefield due to severe international sanctions in a war of attrition.
Despite the strong evidence of missile transfers from Iran to Russia, the use of such missiles against Ukrainian military or civilian infrastructure has not been substantively verified, a statement by President Volodymyr Zelensky on September 11, 2024.
(Quoted from an opinion article on the Kyiv Post website by Anant Mishra, Christian Kaunert)
*The article did not address the issue of the expected UN sanctions on Iran, if it does not cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency!
*It did not address the issue of Iran’s ability to withstand the potential sanctions for years to come on its stability, if it decides to continue its dealings with Russia and leave the West aside, especially if we know, and it is an open secret, Donald Trump’s desire to force Iran to accept an agreement that greatly limits its nuclear and regional ambitions, and its direct support for the militias loyal to it.
*The article did not address the issue of Syria, after the fall of the Baath regime, which has been loyal to Iran for more than 4 decades!
Discover more from Daily NEWS Global 24/7
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
