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Written by Steve Holland and Angelo Amante
WASHINGTON/ROME (Reuters) – A senior U.S. official said on Friday that G7 countries will respond with tough new penalties, including a ban on Iran Air’s flights to Europe, if Iran moves forward with the transfer of short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. He said he was ready. .
The official made the comments after the United States joined six G7 allies in issuing a statement warning Iran not to send missiles to Russia.
“If Iran proceeds to provide ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia, we stand ready to respond in a swift and coordinated manner, including by taking significant new measures against Iran,” the G7 statement said. .
The United States will take action against what it views as belligerent behavior by Iran, including its support for Iranian-backed militias in the region that have launched attacks on U.S. military bases and its alleged hacking of U.S. infrastructure. We are responding more proactively.
The G7’s move came in the wake of a Reuters report that the Iranian government had provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles for use in the invasion of Ukraine.
A senior U.S. official said on condition of anonymity that one of the options being considered by the G7 “would have the effect of eliminating the national carrier’s flagship Iran Air flight to Europe, which is not business as usual.” That’s what I mean.” . ”
Iran Air flies passengers from Iran to several European cities.
The official said the United States could not confirm that the transfer had already taken place, but that efforts by the Iranian government to advance negotiations with Moscow over missiles were not clear, as reported by Reuters. He said it was obvious.
“On the issue of Iran’s missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine… we have sent a very clear message to Iran not to do that,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Vienna on Friday. ” he said.
He added: “This has been a topic of considerable conversation among many countries in Europe and the United States, and the concern about the situation and the determination to address it if necessary is very real and very strong. I think it’s something,” he added. . ”
Earlier this year, U.S. officials held indirect talks with Iranian officials in the same building in Oman, discussing Iranian support for the Houthis launching attacks in the Red Sea, Iranian-backed proxies and other destabilizing threats. Another U.S. official clarified that it was about support for the act. Said.
The G7 statement said sending Iranian missiles to Russia would represent a “substantive escalation of Russia’s support for the war in Ukraine, an invasion that would constitute a serious violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.”
UN Security Council restrictions on Iranian exports of some missiles, drones and other technology expired in October. However, the United States and the European Union maintained sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile program due to concerns about arms exports to Middle Eastern proxies and Russia.
Ballistic missiles will become a powerful new weapon for Russia to use in the Ukraine war.
The United States said Iran has already provided Russia with drones, guided air bombs, and artillery shells that Russia has used to attack targets in Ukraine.
The U.S. government has been taking strict measures for a year now over what it claims is an unprecedented Russian-Iranian defense partnership that will not only help Russia prolong the war in Ukraine, but also pose a threat to Iran’s neighbors. I have continued to be cautious.
The G7 group of major Western democracies is currently chaired by Italy and also includes the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Canada.
The statement comes as the European Union is also considering action against Iran for supplying weapons to Russia, Reuters reported this week.
(Reporting by Steve Holland in Washington and Angelo Amante in Rome; Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Vienna and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Matthew Lewis)
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