Following Blinken's lead: France, Germany, and UK to sanction Iran over Russian missile transfer

Calling Iran's decision to transfer missiles to Russia "a direct threat to European security," the foreign ministers of the "E3" - Germany, France, and the United Kingdom - announced today (Tuesday) that it would be imposing sanctions on Iran and its airline Iran air for facilitating the missile transfer.

In their statement, the ministers said that "We will be taking immediate steps to cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran. In addition, we will pursue the designations of significant entities and individuals involved with Iran’s ballistic missile programme and the transfer of ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia. We will also work towards imposing sanctions on Iran Air."

American Secretary of State Blinken announced earlier today that the United States would be sanctioning Iran, including Iran Air, for transferring missiles to Russia, according to the Washington Post.

"We’ve warned Tehran publicly, we’ve warned Tehran privately, that taking this step would be a dangerous escalation," Blinken said.

Until recently, Tehran has supplied Russia with multiple drones but has held off on providing heavier weaponry, possibly due to fear of retaliation.

Meanwhile, an Iranian parliamentarian suggested the decision to provide Russia with missiles was due to a desire for Russian agricultural products such as soy and wheat, which would aid Iran's deteriorating economic situation.