EU will respond with sanctions to Iran's supply of ballistic missiles to Russia — von der Leyen

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that if Iran realizes its intention to supply Russia with ballistic missiles to escalate the war in Ukraine, the EU will impose additional sanctions against the country

She said this during a speech in Strasbourg before the European Parliament's plenary session on preparations for the next EU summit on March 21-22, Ukrinform reports.

"We are prepared to respond with additional sanctions, in case Iran provides ballistic missiles to Russia, as recently reported," von der Leyen said.

She added that Iran is also destabilizing the entire Middle East region, and the situation on Israel's border with Lebanon continues to be explosive.

"Iran – that is, Hamas' patron – has continued to fuel regional tensions, for instance, with its support to Houthi terrorists in Yemen.  Just like we know they keep fuelling Russia's war against Ukraine," the President of the European Commission emphasized.

• On February 21, the Reuters news agency reported that Iran had provided Russia with about 400 ballistic missiles that can destroy targets at a distance of 300 to 700 kilometers. At the same time, Iran's UN mission denied this.
• On March 5, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said he had evidence that Iran had supplied ballistic missiles to Russia.