EU plans fresh sanctions on Iran for supplying drones to Russia

BRUSSELS

The EU has evidence that Iran is providing Russia with unmanned aerial vehicles for its war against Ukraine and is working towards new sanctions against Tehran, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Nabila Massrali of the European Commission said at a briefing in Brussels that they had collected "sufficient evidence" over Iran supplying Russia with deadly drones.

The issue was also discussed at the EU foreign ministers' meeting on Monday, during which the ministers shared the data they had.

Iran refuted reports about Russia using Iranian-made drones in Ukraine, as Moscow ups the ante with a series of strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks.

On Monday, an EU foreign ministerial session decided to levy sanctions against 11 Iranian individuals and four entities over the country's crackdown on protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman, in police custody.

The sanctions target Iran’s morality police and two police figures, as well as a number of local chiefs along with Issa Zarepour, the country's information and communications technology minister.