In a post on his X account late on Sunday, Araghchi said that the EU is resorting to unfounded pretexts it used to boycott Iran’s national airline last month to impose sanctions on the IRISL.

He said that even the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that there have been no Iranian missile deliveries to Russia for the purpose of the war in Ukraine.

“Now, the EU is using the same non-existent missile pretext to also target our shipping lines,” said the minister, adding, “There is no legal, logical or moral basis for such behavior.”

Araghchi said that the EU plan to impose sanctions on the IRISL would be against the freedom of navigation as the basic principle of the law of the sea, warning that the measure would backfire.

The US-based Wall Street Journal claimed in a Saturday report that the EU is set to announce sanctions on Iran’s shipping industry on Monday.