TEHRAN- In response to what it claims to be the provision of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia in the conflict with Ukraine, the European Union has slapped sanctions on four Iranian entities.As a part of the eleventh set of sanctions against Moscow over its protracted military campaign in the former Soviet republic, the restrictive measures were agreed by the Council of the European Union on Friday.The Council added 87 more entities from various countries to the list of those “directly supporting Russia’s military and industrial complex” in its operation in Ukraine, stating that “they will be subject to tighter export restrictions concerning dual use goods and technologies.”Four Iranian companies were on the list, which the Council claimed were “manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and providing them to Russia,” alleging they were “involved in the circumvention of trade restrictions, and certain Russian entities involved in the development, production, and supply of electronic components for Russia’s military and industrial complex.”The Council of the European Union claimed that the entire 87 entities were “responsible for actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”The stringent measures, the Council continued, “intended to strengthen existing EU sanctions and crack down on their circumvention.”Officials in Moscow and Tehran have both vehemently refuted allegations that Iran sent drones to Russia for use in the conflict in Ukraine.In July of last year, U.S.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made the first anti-Iran allegations, claiming that Washington had “information” indicating that the Islamic Republic was getting ready to give Russia “up to several hundred drones, including weapons-capable UAVs on an expedited timeline” for use in the conflict.In November, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian downplayed media speculation over Tehran’s purported backing for Russia in the Ukraine war, although he added that Tehran had given Moscow a small number of drones months before the conflict there.Iran would not remain indifferent, Amir Abdollahian further reassured, if it is shown that Russia employed Iranian drones in the fight, he added.