The fight against Iran's "suicide" drone industry: The European Union warned governments and commercial companies on Thursday that it may impose a blanket ban on the sale of components to Turkey and other countries that serve as a supply route for Iran's drone industry.
The European Commission's announcement comes after the British newspaper The Guardian published dozens of documents yesterday proving that Iran's drone industry relies heavily on electronic components made by European companies. In addition, the report revealed that Iran manufactures or assembles some of the UAVs in Syrian territory, apparently under the umbrella of Russian air defense in the country.
IRGC drone base in northern Iran
Five European companies, including a British company operating out of Poland, were mentioned in the documents as suppliers of components for the Iranian military industry. The documents do not indicate a violation of the law on the part of the companies, but rather a given situation in which sanctions are imposed on a significant breach in sanctions on Iran and on Russia, which buys Tehran-made drones. "The Iranian UAV industry has adapted to the market and uses mainly components that can be obtained from commercial companies. These components have little or no control over these components. Almost all imports of these components to Iran pass through Turkey, India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan or Vietnam," the British newspaper said.
A spokesman for the European Commission told the Guardian that the fact that Iran is forced to obtain components in such ways shows the heavy pressure that Iran's military industry is under due to European and American sanctions. "There must be even greater pressure from EU member states. This should mean strict supervision of foreign operators and checking that they are not re-importing components that reach Iran and Russia," the source told the newspaper.
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