Key Figures Targeted: EU Imposes Sanctions for Supporting Aggression
The Council of the European Union finalised, on Friday, May 31, the lists of sanctions against individuals and entities from Iran and North Korea implicated in supplying arms to Russia.
This statement was published on the website of the EU Council. According to DW, the updated lists include six individuals and three legal entities directly associated with deliveries from North Korea and Iran, respectively.
The sanctions against representatives of North Korea, as highlighted by the EU Council, are connected to "illegal weapons programs and support for Russia's aggression against Ukraine." Iranian representatives have been sanctioned for transferring drones for Russia's aggression against Ukraine and for transferring drones and missiles to the Middle East and the Red Sea region. This implicates Iran's responsibility for rocket attacks on Israel, as well as providing active assistance to radical groups in Yemen and Syria.
Among others, the Iranian Defense Minister, Mohammadreza Ashtiani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Ismail Qaani, and the head of the Aviation Industries Organization, Afshin Haji Fard, are included in the EU's updated sanction lists. Additionally, Kavan Electro, a company engaged in the procurement and sale of components for drone production, along with two representatives of its top management, are also subject to sanctions.
North Korean representatives are not mentioned on the EU Council website, but it is specified that they "will be subject to asset freezes and prohibited from providing funds or economic resources, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of those listed." Furthermore, they are prohibited from travelling to EU countries.
In addition to North Korean citizens and companies, the governor of the Russian Primorsky Krai region, Oleg Kozhemyako, and the Russian company Vostochnaya Stividornaya Kompaniya (Eastern Stevedoring Company) have also fallen under EU sanctions. It is assumed that Kozhemyako played a significant role in organising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia in September 2023 and that, during this visit, he presented weapon samples, which are prohibited by UN sanctions.
The European Union website published a joint statement by foreign ministers from several European countries, as well as from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
The statement asserts that the countries intend to impose new sanctions against North Korea in a coordinated manner due to "the illegal transfer of weapons from North Korea to Russia for use in an attack on Ukraine." These sanctions also come in connection with the expansion of Pyongyang's nuclear program.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
