EU foreign ministers adopted sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia with ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine on Monday, German news agency dpa reported citing diplomats, UNN reported.
Details
"The EU sanctions target companies and individuals involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and the supply of these and other weapons to Russia," the newspaper writes.
The EU, as noted, has previously warned Iran several times about the inadmissibility of transferring ballistic missiles to Moscow and considers this step a violation of a new taboo.
Iran categorically denies supplying Russia with weapons. According to Tehran, the country has strategic cooperation with Moscow, although it is not related to the war in Ukraine, the newspaper writes.
"One of the targets is the Iranian state airline Iran Air. The UK, Germany and France have already announced that they are working on sanctions against the company," the newspaper points out.
The EU sanctions, including the freezing of assets held in the bloc and a travel ban for individuals, will come into effect after they are published in the EU's Official Journal, the publication writes.
EU foreign ministers are meeting to discuss the escalating conflict in the Middle East and the EU's efforts to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion, despite Hungary's opposition, the newspaper reports.
The bloc is also said to be planning to impose new sanctions on Russian individuals and organizations accused of destabilizing Moldova's democracy and security ahead of a critical referendum on EU membership later this month.
The role of Iran and its regional proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, among others, will also be in the spotlight at the meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg. The EU is struggling to find a response that would help stop the conflict from escalating into a full-scale regional war in the Middle East.
Another important problem is Hungary's year-and-a-half-long blockade of the EU's key instrument for providing military assistance to Ukraine, the European Peace Fund (EPF), worth €6.6 billion ($7.2 billion).
ЄС обговорить розблокування виплат Європейського фонду миру для України - Боррель14.10.24, 11:09
"Budapest does not want to supply weapons to Ukraine, believing that this will only prolong the war," the newspaper writes.
"Frankly, it's a lot of time, it's a lot of money, and it undermines our political will to support Ukraine on any front," the EU official said, signaling the EU's growing impatience with Hungary.
The bloc's diplomatic arm, the European External Action Service, has developed a plan to make contributions to the EPF voluntary rather than mandatory as a technical workaround to counter Hungary.
"The EU diplomat said that Hungary has demonstrated its readiness to agree to this decision," the newspaper writes.
Ukraine's new Foreign Minister, Andriy Sybiga, reportedly spoke with EU foreign ministers via video link. Borrell welcomed his contributions in a post in X and promised new arms shipments to Ukraine.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is also in Luxembourg. As the publication notes, this is the first time a British foreign minister has attended a meeting of EU foreign ministers alone since Britain left the EU in 2020.