BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) – The governments of France, Germany and Britain condemned the transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia, said they would cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran and work to sanction airline Iran Air.
The announcement came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and would likely use them in the war in Ukraine within weeks.
“This act is an escalation by both Iran and Russia, and poses a direct threat to European security,” said a joint statement from the three countries.
“We call on Iran to immediately cease all support for Russia’s war against Ukraine and halt the development and transfer of its ballistic missiles.”
Earlier during a visit to Britain, Blinken said the US would also impose new sanctions, including on Iran Air. Britain said canceling bilateral air services agreements would limit Iran Air’s ability to fly to Britain and Europe.
Britain announced sanctions on Russian cargo ships over what the government said was their role in transporting military supplies from Iran to Russia.
The UK sanctions also targeted a handful of individuals and organizations “for their role in facilitating Iran’s military support to Russia, including those involved in ballistic missile and drone supply chains”.
“We have been clear that any transfer of ballistic missiles by Iran would attract a significant response,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement. “Today we, together with our international partners, call out this behavior and its attempts to undermine global security.”
