SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Three Senior Iranian military figures and a defense manufacturer were slapped with British sanctions on Thursday for supplying Russia with drones to attack targets in Ukraine.
Senior Iranian military officers Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, Seyed Hojjatollah Qureishi, and Saeed Aghajani will be subject to an asset freeze and travel ban, Britain’s foreign office said in a statement.
The three individuals were “personally responsible” for providing the drones used in strikes in Ukraine, it added.
“Iran’s support for Putin’s brutal and illegal war against Ukraine is deplorable,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.
“This is clear evidence of Iran’s destabilizing role in global security,” he added.
The foreign office further said Britain will subject Shahed Aviation Industries, the Iranian manufacturer of the Shahed drones, to an asset freeze.
Tehran denies supplying the drones to Moscow and the Kremlin on Tuesday denied its forces had used Iranian drones to attack Ukraine. Washington says Iran’s denial is a lie.
Iran’s Foreign Minister last week refused that his country had provided Russia with drones to use in Ukraine.
“The published news about Iran providing Russia with drones has political ambitions and it’s circulated by western sources. We have not provided weaponry to any side of the countries at war,” said Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani during a weekly press conference.
