Tehran has strongly condemned the European Council’s imposition of new sanctions targeting Iran’s defense industry over trumped-up charges of providing Russia with drones to use in the Ukraine war.

According to The Iran Project,In a statement on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani reiterated Iran’s principled position of opposing war and the need to resolve the disputes between Russia and Ukraine through peaceful means.

Kanani said the Islamic Republic reserves the right to respond to the “destructive” move, adding that while the “desperate” attempts made by some “malicious” parties would not bring any achievements to them, they’re merely adding more obstacles in the path of improving Iran-Europe relations.

“The European Union talks about international law and the United Nations Charter, while it actually turns a blind eye to the most severe and gross violation of the known principles of international law, including human rights and international humanitarian rights, and the unquestionable commission of genocide and ethnic cleansing of the oppressed Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank and fails to take effective measures to stop the barbaric attacks of the usurping Zionist regime,” he added.

On Monday, the European Council announced sanctions against 6 persons and 5 entities for involvement in Iran’s development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), which it claimed have been used by Russia in the Ukraine war.

Led by the United States, Western powers and Ukraine have long accused Iran of supplying drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.

Both Iran and Russia have firmly denied the allegations, with Tehran urging Ukraine and its Western supporters to provide evidence to prove their claims.