TEHRAN, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Iran summoned the heads of the diplomatic missions of Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Germany on Thursday to protest their governments' statements about Tehran's alleged involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and recent sanctions, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.

Majid Nili Ahmadabadi, director for Western European nations at Iran's Foreign Ministry, met separately with the envoys, condemning what he called a "propaganda campaign" and "destructive actions" against Iran.

The diplomatic move follows a joint statement by British, French, and German foreign ministers on Tuesday, which accused Iran of exporting missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine. The statement also announced plans to cancel bilateral air services agreements and impose sanctions on Iran's national carrier, Iran Air.

Ahmadabadi denied the allegations, calling claims of Iranian ballistic missile sales to Russia "baseless and false." He criticized Western nations for arms sales to other countries, including Israel, saying they should be held accountable for their policies.

The United States also imposed new sanctions on Tuesday targeting individuals and entities in Iran and Russia, including Iran Air, over alleged drone and missile sales to Moscow.

Meanwhile, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Thursday. Ahmadian affirmed that Tehran will continue to expand its relations with Moscow under its new administration, according to IRNA.

For his part, Putin expressed Russia's commitment to expanding bilateral relations, noting that trade between the two countries increased by nearly 10 percent in the first half of 2024, IRNA reported.

Iran has consistently denied providing Russia with weapons for use against Ukraine, despite Western accusations. The country maintains it supports a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Enditem

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