عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

EU Slaps New Sanctions on Iran's UAV Program

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei listens to commander of the missile unit in the Revolutionary Guard, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, near a model of the Shahid 147 (Iranian Supreme leader official Website)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei listens to commander of the missile unit in the Revolutionary Guard, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, near a model of the Shahid 147 (Iranian Supreme leader official Website)
TT
TT

EU Slaps New Sanctions on Iran's UAV Program

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei listens to commander of the missile unit in the Revolutionary Guard, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, near a model of the Shahid 147 (Iranian Supreme leader official Website)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei listens to commander of the missile unit in the Revolutionary Guard, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, near a model of the Shahid 147 (Iranian Supreme leader official Website)

The EU Council imposed restrictive measures against 6 persons and 5 entities involved in Iran's development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) used in Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, an official statement read on Monday.

"These are the first listings under the newly established framework for restrictive measures in view of Iran's military support of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. They complement the previous four rounds of listings on Iranian drones already adopted under other sanctions regimes," the report said.

The new listings include the company Shakad Sanat Asmari, its CEO, deputy CEO and chief scientist; other companies manufacturing components for UAVs, namely Baharestan Kish Company and its managing director, Saad Sazeh Faraz Sharif and its CEO, as well as Sarmad Electronic Sepahan Company, offering aerospace engineering services, and companies helping Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF) improve the UAV programme (Kimia Part Sivan Company).

Those targeted will be subject to an asset freeze and travel ban to the European Union. Also, the provision of funds or economic resources, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed is prohibited.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

US Laments 'Disappointing' Swiss Decision Not to Fully Adopt Latest EU Sanctions against Russia

FILE - US Ambassador to Switzerland Scott Miller gives a statement during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano, Switzerland, on July 5, 2022. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP, File)
FILE - US Ambassador to Switzerland Scott Miller gives a statement during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano, Switzerland, on July 5, 2022. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP, File)
TT
TT

US Laments 'Disappointing' Swiss Decision Not to Fully Adopt Latest EU Sanctions against Russia

FILE - US Ambassador to Switzerland Scott Miller gives a statement during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano, Switzerland, on July 5, 2022. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP, File)
FILE - US Ambassador to Switzerland Scott Miller gives a statement during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano, Switzerland, on July 5, 2022. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP, File)

The United States is expressing disappointment over a decision by the Swiss government not to adopt all measures in the latest round of European Union sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
Amb. Scott Miller, the top US envoy in the Swiss capital, expressed hope that Bern will work to close a “loophole” that allows overseas subsidiaries to get around sanctions, which aim to punish the Russian government over President Vladimir Putin's all-out war in Ukraine launched in February 2022, The Associated Press reported.
“It is essential we target sanctions circumvention to dent Russia the finances and materiel it needs to continue its brutal war. None of our companies should be complicit,” Miller said in a statement.
The Swiss Federal Council, the executive branch, announced Wednesday it had decided to adopt “most of the measures" included in the latest EU sanctions. While Switzerland isn't one of the bloc's 27 member countries, Bern has largely hewed to its sanctions against Russia in a bid to curtail its war machine in Ukraine.
In the statement sent Friday to The Associated Press, Miller said the council's decision “to not fully adopt all components of the 14th package of sanctions ... is disappointing."
Many developed countries have sought to curtail Russia’s access to Western finance, markets and technology, and shunned or limited imports of Russian goods. The measures have had a limited effect on Russia’s economy, not least because many countries — including major developing nations like China, India, Türkiye and Brazil — are still doing a lot of business with Russia.
Meanwhile, some Russian natural gas still flows into the European Union — through Ukraine.
Switzerland said stiffer controls have been enacted in areas such as intellectual property and trade secrets, industrial know-how, messaging services in the financial sector, natural gas and Russian helium exports.
But it stopped short of joining EU restrictions on applications for patents, brands and other intellectual property of companies from Russia, saying “there have been no intellectual property rights violations committed by Russia against Swiss companies.”
The latest EU measures also call on businesses in the bloc to make sure foreign subsidiaries don't undercut the sanctions. The Swiss say their current sanctions law already allows for prosecution of companies that circumvent sanctions through subsidiaries and as a result, the council “decided not to adopt this EU measure in its current form.”
The government said some 2,250 individuals, companies and organizations in Switzerland are currently on the sanctions list in connection with the situation in Ukraine, and “the list is identical to that of the EU.”