The UK and European Union announce sanctions over Iran's alleged drone deliveries to Russia

The UK is implementing new sanctions on Iranian individuals and a business that it believes are responsible for supplying Russia with kamikaze drones used to bombard Ukraine.

The UK has designated:

• Major-General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri (Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces).
• General Sayed Hojatollah Qureishi (Head of the Supply, Research, and Industrial Affairs Division at the Iranian
• Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics).
• Brigadier-General Saeed Aghajani (Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force UAV Command).
• The legal entity Shahed Aviation Industries, which manufactures Shahed Drones.
  
  They have been designated for their alleged role in the development and supply of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that have been used by Russia in its aggression against Ukraine.

The UK announcement came just hours after the European Union (EU) formally agreed sanctions against Iran for the same reasons. The EU’s European Council has signalled that it intends to impose restrictive measures against a further two individuals and two entities on the same grounds.

The persons and the company that have been designated will be subject to an asset freeze. The individuals will also be banned from entering the UK and the EU.

Iran denied the allegations about sending drones to Russia to be used in the conflict in Ukraine.