Iran summons Hungarian ambassador, condemns EU and UK sanctions

DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran's foreign ministry summoned Hungary's ambassador on Tuesday to protest against new European Union sanctions on Tehran, and denied Western allegations that it has transferred ballistic missiles to Russia, Iranian state media reported.

The EU agreed on Monday to impose sanctions on seven people and seven organisations, including airline Iran Air, for alleged links to Iranian transfers of ballistic missiles to Russia. Britain, which is not in the EU, also imposed new sanctions.

Hungary's ambassador was summoned because Budapest holds the 27-nation EU's rotating presidency.

"In addition to voicing the Islamic Republic's strong protest against the EU's recent decision, the meeting helped stress that resorting to illegal and coercive methods like sanctions against Iran is unacceptable and will lead nowhere," the official IRNA news agency said.

Britain added nine new designations under its Iran sanctions regime on Monday, after the United States said last month that Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran for Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Denying the missile transfers, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on X: "Some European countries and the UK have unfortunately claimed without evidence that Iran has militarily intervened in this conflict which is totally refuted."

Baghaei said the imposition of new sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities went against international law.

A spokesperson for Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation told IRNA that national airline Iran Air would cease flights to Europe as it was no longer able to receive the flight permits it needs.

Iran Air is the only Iranian airline that has recently been flying to Europe, an official from the Association of Iranian Airlines told the Iranian Labour News Agency.

Saha Airlines, Mahan Air and Iranian Deputy Defence Minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari are included in the latest sanctions.

Also facing EU sanctions are prominent officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard and the managing directors of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries and Aerospace Industries Organization.

The sanctions include an asset freeze and a travel ban to the EU.

(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly; Editing by Sonali Paul, Ros Russell and Timothy Heritage)