WASHINGTON/ROME: G7 nations are prepared to respond with severe new penalties that could include a ban on Iran Air flights to Europe if Iran proceeds with the transfer of close-range ballistic missiles to Russia, a senior US official said on Friday.
The official commented as the United States joined its six G7 allies in issuing a statement warning Iran against sending the missiles to Russia or else face the consequences.
“Were Iran to proceed with providing ballistic missiles or related technology to Russia, we are prepared to respond swiftly and in a coordinated manner including with new and significant measures against Iran,” the G7 statement said.
The United States has been increasingly aggressive at responding to what Washington considers belligerent behavior by Iran, such as its support for Iran-backed militias in the region who are launching attacks on US bases and Tehran’s alleged hacking of US infrastructure. The G7 move came in the aftermath of a Reuters report that said Tehran has provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles for use in its invasion of Ukraine.
The senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said one option under consideration by the G7 “would have the effect of ending flights from Iran Air, its flagship state-owned carrier, into Europe — point being, this is not business as usual.”
Iran Air flies passengers from Iran to multiple cities in Europe.
The official said that while the United States had not been able to confirm that the transfer has already taken place as Reuters reported, there clearly was an effort by Tehran to advance negotiations with Moscow on the missiles.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Vienna on Friday: “On the question of Iranian missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine ... we sent very clear messages to Iran not to do it.”
He added: “This has been the subject of considerable conversation among a number of countries in Europe and the United States and I think that the concern about that eventuality, and the commitment to address it, if necessary, is very real, and very strong.”
US officials held indirect talks with Iranian officials in the same building in Oman earlier this year in a conversation that was about Iran’s support for Houthis launching attacks in the Red Sea, its support for Iran-backed proxies and other destabilizing behavior, a separate US official said.
The G7 statement said sending Iranian missiles to Russia would represent “a substantive material escalation in its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine – an aggression which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter.”
UN Security Council restrictions on Iran’s export of some missiles, drones and other technologies expired in October. However, the United States and European Union retained sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program amid concerns over exports of weapons to its proxies in the Middle East and to Russia.
Ballistic missiles would be a powerful new weapon for Russia to use in its war in Ukraine.
The United States has said Iran has already provided Russia with drones, guided aerial bombs and artillery ammunition that Moscow has used to attack Ukrainian targets.
Washington has been on high alert for a year about what it has described as an unprecedented Russian-Iranian defense partnership that will help Moscow prolong its war in Ukraine as well as pose a threat to Iran’s neighbors.
The G7 group of major Western democracies is currently chaired by Italy and also includes the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France and Canada.
The statement came as the European Union is also considering measures against Iran for arming Russia, Reuters reported this week.
Iran Air could be banned from Europe if Tehran sends missiles to Russia, US warns
https://arab.news/b6bdj
Iran Air could be banned from Europe if Tehran sends missiles to Russia, US warns
- The United States has been increasingly aggressive at responding to what Washington considers belligerent behavior by Iran
- One option under consideration by the G7 “would have the effect of ending flights from Iran Air, its flagship state-owned carrier, into Europe“
Ambassadors, military attaches visit border villages, are briefed on weapons centralization south of Litani River
- Aoun: Contacts ongoing at home and abroad to consolidate security in southern Lebanon
BEIRUT: A delegation of Arab and foreign ambassadors and military attaches toured areas south of the Litani River on Monday, accompanied by Lebanese Army Chief Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, for a briefing on the progress in implementing the plan to confine weapons to the state.
According to a military source, the visit aimed to “review the tasks being carried out by the Lebanese Army to implement the Homeland Shield Plan mandated by the Council of Ministers.”
The first phase of the plan is scheduled to conclude by the end of this month, after which the army will move to the next stage: centralizing all weapons north of the Litani line.
Diplomats are expected to convey their field observations to their respective governments on the eve of a US–Saudi–French meeting with the army commander on Dec. 17 and 18 in Paris, where they will also discuss supporting the Lebanese Army, the weapons centralization plan, and the progress achieved.
The commander of the southern Litani sector, Brig. Gen. Nicolas Thabet, briefed the diplomatic delegation on the operations being carried out by the army during a meeting held at the Benoit Barakat Barracks in Tyre, which was joined by the army commander and senior officers. The delegation then moved on to inspect the western sector.
Haykal stressed “the importance of supporting the army and the commitment of all parties to the ceasefire agreement and respect for Lebanese territorial sovereignty.”
While Thabet presented an operational overview to the ambassadors, diplomats focused on evaluating the first phase of the weapons centralization plan, the mechanisms for transitioning to the second phase, and the obstacles facing the army.
The diplomats inspected several army positions deployed along the forward edge, including the town of Aita Al-Shaab and the Wadi Zibqin area, where a Hezbollah facility had previously been located.
A week earlier, Thabet had disclosed that “during the execution of its mission south of the Litani, the army has dealt with 177 tunnels since the launch of the Homeland Shield Plan, closed 11 crossings along the Litani River, and seized 566 rocket launchers.”
Monday’s tour coincided with a meeting on the other side of the border between US Envoy Thomas Barrack and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, focused on de-escalating tensions with Lebanon and Syria.
On Monday, Israel continued through its media to promote the prospect of an imminent Israeli military escalation against Hezbollah unless it is disarmed by the end of the year.
According to the Lebanese Army, “the recent Israeli strikes targeted civilian homes. The army inspected them after they were hit and found no evidence that they contained any weapons.”
Army command further clarified that “after the Israeli enemy threatened two days ago to bomb homes, the Lebanese Army conveyed a message to the relevant mechanism expressing its readiness to inspect the houses before any strike to determine whether they contained weapons or ammunition.”
However, Israeli forces allegedly rejected the proposal and went ahead with air raids on the homes, destroying them.
For his part, President Joseph Aoun said on Monday before visitors that “contacts are ongoing domestically and internationally to consolidate security and stability in the south through negotiations via the mechanism committee, which will hold a meeting next Friday.”
He added that the mechanism’s work “enjoys Lebanese, Arab, and international support, particularly following the appointment of former Ambassador Simon Karam as head of the Lebanese delegation.”
Aoun noted that “the choice of negotiation is the alternative to war, which would yield no results but would cause further harm and destruction to Lebanon and the Lebanese without exception.”
