米英独仏、イランに新たな制裁　ロシアへのミサイル供与で

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】米国と英国、フランス、ドイツの４か国は１０日、イランがロシアに短距離ミサイルを供与したとして、新たな対イラン制裁を発表した。（写真は、英ロンドンで記者会見するアントニー・ブリンケン米国務長官〈右〉とデービッド・ラミー英外相）
　アントニー・ブリンケン米国務長官は訪問先の英ロンドンで、イランからロシアに提供されたミサイルは「数週間以内に」使用される恐れがあると警告。ロシア兵数十人がイランで、射程１２０キロのミサイル「ファタフ３６０」の訓練を受けたと述べた。
　こうした事態を受け、英仏独３か国は共同声明を発表し、イランとの航空協定を停止するとともに、国営イラン航空を対象に制裁を科すとした。
　声明はイラン製ミサイルの対ロシア供与について「イラン、ロシア両国によるエスカレーション行為であり、欧州の安全保障に対する直接の脅威だ」と指摘した。
　英国はその後、「英・イラン間の直行便の全面運航停止」を発表。米国もイラン航空および個人１０人、ロシアへのミサイル供与に関与した複数の企業を対象に制裁を発表した。
　これに対し、イラン外務省のナセル・カナニ報道官は、西側の主張は虚偽であり、イスラム組織ハマスに対するイスラエルの戦いを米国が支援していることから目をそらすためのものだと批判した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/09/11-17:07）

Western powers on Tuesday announced fresh sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia with short-range missiles for imminent use against Ukraine, calling it a dangerous escalation of the conflict that threatened European security.
Britain, France and Germany said they would cut aviation agreements with the Islamic republic and sanction its national carrier Iran Air, claiming Tehran had repeatedly defied warnings about the weapons transfers.
This act is an escalation by both Iran and Russia, and is a direct threat to European security, the so-called E3 powers said in a joint statement.
President Joe Biden meanwhile said the United States was considering lifting restrictions on Ukraine using long-range, US-made missiles against Russia to help it defend itself in return.
We're working that out right now, Biden told reporters at the White House.
On a visit to London, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the Iranian missiles could be used against Ukraine within weeks.
Dozens of Russian military personnel have trained in Iran using the Fath-360 missile, which has a range of 75 miles (120 kilometres), he added.
The British government announced soon afterwards that it had already begun the termination of all direct air services between the UK and Iran.
Washington accused Iran Air of operating or having operated in the transportation sector of the Russian Federation economy, sanctioning it and 10 individuals and companies involved in the supply.
- 'False and misleading' -
The move was dismissed In Iran, where foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said the Western claims were false and a distraction from US backing for Israel in its war against Hamas militants.
Spreading false and misleading news about the transfer of Iranian weapons to some countries is just an ugly propaganda and lie with the aim of concealing the dimensions of the massive illegal arms support of the United States and some Western countries for the genocide in the Gaza Strip, he added.
On Ukraine, the State Department said that Blinken would travel to Kyiv on Wednesday in a solidarity trip with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, as Ukrainian forces face Russian advances in the east.
Moscow has stepped up its aerial attacks in recent weeks but is also trying to fight off a major Ukrainian cross-border offensive into its western Kursk region, which has reshaped the course of the two-and-a-half-year war.
Lammy said the joint trip demonstrated the two countries' commitment to Ukraine, and comes before UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits the White House on Friday.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Britain has been at the forefront of pushing for more assistance to Kyiv, including loosening restrictions on the use of Western weapons on Russian territory.
Asked about reports that Britain is waiting for a US green light to let Ukraine use long-range Storm Shadow missiles against Russia, Lammy said he would not discuss operational issues as the only person who could benefit was Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Last week, the UK said that it would send Ukraine 650 new specialist missile systems after President Volodymyr Zelensky complained of slow deliveries from the West.
- 'Special relationship'-
The US-UK special relationship has persevered across partisan lines since Starmer's Labour ended the Conservatives 14 years in power in July.
But for Starmer, a full alignment with President Joe Biden's Democratic Party agenda could carry risks just two months before US elections in which Biden's political heir Kamala Harris is running neck and neck in polls with Republican Donald Trump.
While backing Ukraine, Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, has taken a harder line than the Conservatives on Israel, which relies on the United States as its foremost backer in the Gaza war.
His Labour government last week announced restrictions on some weapons to Israel, voicing concern that they could be used to violate international humanitarian law.
The Labour government has also dropped its Conservative predecessor's plans to challenge the right of the International Criminal Court to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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