Iran Condemns EU Sanctions on Its Shipping Lines

Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement that the new sanctions imposed by the UK and the EU against a number of Iranian individuals and entities, including the IRISL, on the bogus charge of shipping ballistic missiles to Russia, was an unjustifiable measure in violation of international laws and in breach of the UK and the EU’s commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Rejecting the accusations made by the EU and Britain that Iran has sent ballistic missiles to Russia, the spokesman said, “While the Ukrainian president himself has acknowledged that no Iranian ballistic missile has been exported to Russia, the move by the EU and the UK to impose sanctions on Iran on such pretext is by no means justifiable and lacks any legitimacy or legal or logical credibility whatsoever.”

Baqaei said the sanctions imposed by the EU and the UK against Iran’s shipping lines and airlines that undermine the interests and basic rights of Iranians are a brazen example of systematic violation of human rights and entail international responsibility for those who have initiated and imposed the sanctions.

The freedom of navigation and maritime trade is a basic principle of international maritime law, the spokesman noted, reminding the European parties of their international responsibility for the violation of the law.

He also deplored the UK and the EU’s interfering policies on the legitimate and lawful defense and military relations between other governments, stressing that Iran will employ the full capacity of cooperation with its partners to fulfill its national interests and security.