Europe’s Anti-Iran Moves Denounced as Destructive

Tehran strongly condemned Europe’s recent move to impose sanctions on Iran over alleged supply of drones for use by Russia in its war on Ukraine, describing it as “irresponsible, destructive and illegal.”
“We reject unfounded claims about sending drones for use in the Ukraine conflict,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Saturday, ISNA reported. 
He added that the Islamic Republic reserves the right to respond to any irresponsible move with a view to protecting national interests and upholding the inherent rights of the Iranian nation.
“The Islamic Republic would not hesitate to defend the interests of the Iranian nation,” he said. 
Iran has always emphasized that all United Nations member states must respect the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law, including independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, completely, Kanaani stressed. 
“We support peace and immediate end of war in Ukraine through a political process,” he said. 
He pointed out that some European countries who make claims against Iran are the same states which provided weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hossein during his eight years of imposed war against Iran [1980-88]. 
“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers them accomplices in Saddam Hossein’s crimes and therefore, responsible and answerable,” he said. 
Kanaani also said the current provocative measures of the EU and Britain are part of a purposeful political scenario and in contradiction with their absurd and conflicting claims of helping peace and lasting stability in the world. 

Completely Irrelevant 

Britain and the European Union imposed a new round of sanctions aimed at Iran on Thursday over claims of providing drones that Russia has used to strike battlefields and civilian targets in Ukraine.
The United States has also been mulling the prospect of bringing sanctions against Iran over the claimed drones. 
The State Department said it would “not hesitate” to bring sanctions against Iran over the alleged weapons transfers to Russia.
Moscow denies it is using Iranian-made drones in Ukraine. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the West was seeking to put “pressure” on Tehran.
The sanctions target the company that manufactures Shahed-136 drones as well as three Iranian generals.
The bloc said it was imposing the measures on Tehran “for undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.” It also signaled that it intended to impose “restrictive measures” against two more individuals and two other entities on the same grounds.
Britain, France and Germany also called for a UN probe of the accusations in a letter signed by their UN envoys on Friday.
The three argued the drone use breached UN Security Council Resolution 2231 endorsing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
“We would welcome an investigation by the UN Secretariat team responsible for monitoring the implementation of UNSCR 2231,” the Britain, France and Germany said in the letter.
Kanaani censured the European states for efforts to poison the political atmosphere against Iran by trying to suggest a misleading interpretation of the resolution and linking their baseless claims with the international document. 
“The issues regarding the conflict in Ukraine are completely irrelevant to UNSCR 2231 in terms of subject and content,” he said. 
The UN resolution endorsed the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which lifted sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs on its nuclear program. 
Under the resolution, a conventional arms embargo on Iran was in place until October 2020. 
However, western diplomats said the resolution still includes restrictions on missiles and related technologies that last until October 2023 and that encompass the export and purchase of advanced military systems such as drones.
The JCPOA has been unravelling since the US pulled out in 2018 and reimposed tough sanctions on Tehran, which was compelled to react by rowing back on its nuclear commitments. 
Negotiations to restore the deal have also been in a stalemate for months.