Thu 20 October 2022:
On Thursday, the United Kingdom imposed new sanctions on Iranian individuals and companies “responsible for supplying Russia with kamikaze drones used to bombard Ukraine.”
Russia is using the drones “to attack both civilian targets and critical infrastructure in Kyiv and across Ukraine, with the intention of cutting off Ukrainian people from energy, heating, and water,” a statement from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said.
The statement further said Iran was “actively warmongering, profiting off Russia’s abhorrent attacks on Ukrainian citizens, and adding to the suffering of the people and the destruction of critical infrastructure” by supplying those drones.
“Both Russia and Iran are violating a UN Security Council Resolution that controls the transfer of these weapons from Iran,” it read.
“Iran’s support for Putin’s brutal and illegal war against Ukraine is deplorable,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.
“Today we are sanctioning those who have supplied the drones used by Russia to target Ukrainian civilians. This is clear evidence of Iran’s destabilising role in global security,” he added.
“These cowardly drone strikes are an act of desperation. By enabling these strikes, these individuals and a manufacturer have caused the people of Ukraine untold suffering. We will ensure that they are held to account for their actions,” he concluded.
According to the UK government website, sanctions target the individuals and business personally responsible for providing the drones that have been used in these strikes. They are:
- Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri: the Chairman of the armed forces General Staff who has overseen the army branches supplying Russia with drones. Bagheri is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban
- Brigadier General Seyed Hojjatollah Qureishi: the key Iranian negotiator in the deal that has provided Russia with the Iranian produced drones. Qureishi is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban
- Brigadier General Saeed Aghajani: the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian armed forces, Aerospace Force UAV Command. The IRGC are reported to have been in the temporarily controlled territories of Ukraine advising Russian forces on how to use the drones. Aghajani is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban
- Shahed Aviation Industries: the Iranian manufacturer of the Shahed drones which have been used by Russia during its illegal invasion of Ukraine. Shahed Aviation Industries is subject to an asset freeze.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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