EU Includes Iran Air in Sanctions over Missile Transfer to Russia

A projectile is seen in the sky after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
A projectile is seen in the sky after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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EU Includes Iran Air in Sanctions over Missile Transfer to Russia

A projectile is seen in the sky after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
A projectile is seen in the sky after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1, 2024. (Reuters)

The European Union agreed on Monday to impose sanctions on seven people and seven organizations, including airline Iran Air, for their links to Iranian transfers of ballistic missiles to Russia.

The listings also include Saha Airlines and Mahan Air and Iran's Deputy Defense Minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari.

Last month, the United States, citing intelligence it said had been shared with allies, said Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran for its war in Ukraine.

Washington imposed sanctions on ships and companies it said were involved in weapons transfers. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government had not transferred any weapons to Russia since it took office in August.

Also facing sanctions under the EU move are prominent officials from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the managing directors of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries and Aerospace Industries Organization.

The sanctions include an asset freeze and a travel ban to the European Union.

"Military assistance to an aggressor violates international law and the UN Charter. Those who support aggression must share responsibility and pay the price," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X, welcoming the new sanctions.



Iran Stops Indirect Talks with US in Oman

This handout picture provided by the Oman News Agency shows Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi (R) receiving Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Muscat on October 14, 2024. (Photo by Salem AL-Shukeili / Oman News Agency / AFP) /
This handout picture provided by the Oman News Agency shows Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi (R) receiving Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Muscat on October 14, 2024. (Photo by Salem AL-Shukeili / Oman News Agency / AFP) /
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Iran Stops Indirect Talks with US in Oman

This handout picture provided by the Oman News Agency shows Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi (R) receiving Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Muscat on October 14, 2024. (Photo by Salem AL-Shukeili / Oman News Agency / AFP) /
This handout picture provided by the Oman News Agency shows Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi (R) receiving Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Muscat on October 14, 2024. (Photo by Salem AL-Shukeili / Oman News Agency / AFP) /

Iran has stopped indirect talks with the United States in Oman as tensions remain high over a possible Israeli retaliatory strike on Tehran over an earlier missile attack, the Iranian foreign minister said Monday.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi made the comment to Iranian state media while still in Muscat, Oman.

“For the time being, the Muscat process is stopped because of special situation in the region,” Araqchi said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. “We do not see any ground for the talks until we can pass the current crisis.”

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran under new President Masoud Pezeshkian has been signaling it wants to negotiate with the US for sanctions relief. Since then-President Donald Trump pulled America out of the nuclear accord, Tehran has begun enriching uranium to nearly weapons-grade levels and increasing the size of its stockpile. However, US intelligence agencies and officials insist Iran has not begun an effort to build a nuclear weapon.

Meanwhile, Israel has threatened a major retaliatory strike over Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month, the second-such direct assault on Israel by Iran since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.