EU, UK Impose New Sanctions on Iran Over Military Support for Russia, Regional Proxies

Latest Developments

• Restrictions Expanded Against Iranian Entities: The European Union and the United Kingdom announced on November 18 that new sanctions were being imposed on Iranian entities due to Tehran’s transfer of drones and ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine, as well as to Iranian proxies around the Middle East. A statement from the European Union’s highest governing body, the European Council, emphasized that it had “decided to widen the scope of the EU framework for restrictive measures in view of Iran’s military support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and to armed groups and entities in the Middle East and the Red Sea region.” Iran’s national airline, Iran Air, and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) are among the sanctioned entities.

• Iran’s Military Support for Russia: Iran has been supplying Russia with shipments of drones for use against Ukraine since at least August 2022. Last September, the United States confirmed that Iran had also provided Russia with close-range ballistic missiles.

• Iran Minister Denies Reports: Iran Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X that the claims behind the latest tranche of sanctions were baseless, insisting that “no Iranian ballistic missiles have been delivered to Russia.”

FDD Expert Response

“The actions taken today by the European Union and United Kingdom are positive steps that follow years of U.S. leadership in identifying the individuals, companies, vessels, and ports responsible for the shipment of weapons from Iran to Russia. We should encourage our allies to further harmonize their sanctions programs with our own. This will require increased collaboration with and intelligence sharing among U.S. sanctions administrators and their counterparts abroad. But rather than supporting such cooperation on an ad hoc basis, the United States can lead allied democracies by institutionalizing and properly resourcing its approach to sanctions harmonization and all other matters of economic statecraft.” — Max Meizlish, Senior Research Analyst, FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power

“The EU action, focusing on IRISL along with the supply chain supporting Iranian drone manufacturing, will begin to address a major threat to Ukraine. Russia is now marshaling weapons from Iran and China and soldiers from North Korea to force Ukraine into submission. The United States and European Union must continue to use their sanctions policy and direct military aid to ensure this malign alliance cannot force an unjust end to the conflict.” — Tyler Stapleton, Director of Congressional Relations at FDD Action

“Tehran’s involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine has prompted Europeans to adopt a more aggressive approach to economic measures against the Islamic Republic. However, their reluctance to invoke the snapback mechanism to reinstate UN sanctions against Tehran highlights a strategic inconsistency and confusion in their Iran policy.” — Saeed Ghasseminejad, Senior Iran and Financial Economics Advisor

FDD Background and Analysis

“The Russia-Iran axis is transforming the nature of Middle East danger,” by Seth J. Frantzman

“Russia-Iran ties are gaining strength,” by Seth J. Frantzman

“U.S. Sanctions Iranian Entities for Helping Russia Build Drones,” FDD Flash Brief

“Iran Has Already Sent Missiles to Russia, Report Says,” FDD Flash Brief