The European Union has issued a statement protesting against the Iranian transfer of long-range missiles to Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
In the statement published on September 13, the Council of the EU said that it “strongly condemns the recent transfer of Iranian-made ballistic missiles to Russia”, as well as the decision by Tehran to hand the Kremlin “Iranian UAVs and ammunition”.
Writing on social media, outgoing EU foreign affairs tsar Josep Borrell described the move as “a direct threat to European security amidst Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine”.
The EU strongly condemns the transfer of Iranian-made ballistic missiles to Russia, a direct threat to European security amidst Russia's illegal war of aggression against #Ukraine.
We will respond swiftly with new measures against Iran's ballistic missile and drone programmes. https://t.co/oTtoP5f68W
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) September 13, 2024
“We will respond swiftly with new measures against Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programmes.”
The statement is not unusual, with European institutions having issued many expressions of concern or condemnation that an X account has been set up to keep track of them.
EU members France and Germany joined the UK and US on September 10 to announce retaliatory measures aimed at the Islamic Republic.
The sanctions targeted 10 individuals and six companies believed to be involved in the country’s weapons industry.
“Iran has opted to intensify its involvement in Russia’s illegal war, and the United States, along with our partners, will continue to stand with Ukraine,” Wally Adeyemo, of the US treasury, said.
This coincided with a push within NATO to allow Ukraine to use its Western-supplied weaponry to strike deep into Russia.
Putin has warned that such a move would effectively mean NATO was “at war with Russia”, although critics have argued similar threats from the Kremlin in the past have amounted to little.
An unidentified object, which Polish news portal Salon24 reported the Polish military believed was a Russian Shahed drone produced by Iran, has entered Polish territory without being shot down. https://t.co/dI1nYahMHa
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 27, 2024
