Nebraska Panhandle News

U.S. Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Jim Risch (R-ID) have called on European leaders to intensify their actions against Iran and align their sanctions with those imposed by the United States. The appeal follows Iran's transfer of short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, intended for use in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

"Specifically, we call on the EU to mirror efforts recently announced by the E3 to impose restrictions on Iranian airlines and other entities that have facilitated these ballistic missile and other weapons transfers to Russia," wrote the senators. "However, these actions should represent the floor, and not the ceiling, of any European response. Additionally, we strongly advocate for the EU and UK to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. Finally, the E3, with EU support, should initiate the snapback of sanctions on Iran under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which would restore the global UN arms embargo and other restrictions on Iran’s missile program."

The letter emphasized that Iran currently poses an unprecedented threat to European and global security. "This threat will only grow unless it faces real consequences for its aggression. Collective U.S.-European pressure should reflect this grim reality," they stated.

The full text of the letter was addressed to High Representative Borrell, Secretary Lammy, Minister Baerbock, and Minister Séjourné. It urged immediate action from key European countries and institutions including the United Kingdom (UK), France, Germany (E3), and the European Union (EU).

The senators highlighted that since February 2022, Iran has supplied Russia with weaponized drones used in attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians. In return for these supplies, Russia has launched Iranian satellites into space and sent captured Western weapons for reverse engineering by Iranian specialists.

The partnership between Iran and Russia has raised significant concerns among Western nations. Despite warnings from the Group of Seven (G7) about severe consequences if Iran provided ballistic missiles or related technology to Russia, Tehran proceeded with such transfers. This was confirmed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken following a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The letter concluded with a strong plea for coordinated U.S.-European measures against Iran: "Today, Iran poses the greatest direct threat to European and global security that it ever has... We hope you will take this perspective into consideration as you weigh further action on Iran in the near future."

Sincerely,

Pete Ricketts

James E. Risch