EU ambassadors approve sanctions against Iran for supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine - media

This is reported by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

A European diplomat in Brussels told the agency that the decision was approved literally "fifteen minutes before our conversation" and will be published on Thursday, October 20.

“Sanctions have been approved against three individuals and a company producing drones,” the diplomat said.

It is reported that the company responsible for the design and development of the Iranian Shahed UAVs - Shahed Aviation Industries - has been sanctioned.

“A secret series of drones was supplied to the Russian Federation and is being used in an aggressive war against Ukraine. Therefore, Shahed Aviation Industries is accountable for supporting the government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine,” the report says.

The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, Commander of the Aerospace Corps of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Saeed Aghajani, and Hojatollah Qureish, the head of logistics at the Iranian Ministry of Defense, have also been sanctioned. 

• On October 17, the European Union called for substantial evidence of any Iranian involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine.

• On Wednesday, October 19, during a briefing in Brussels, the representative of the European Commission, Nabila Massrali, reported that the EU has evidence of Iran providing drones to Russia for the war against Ukraine.