Iran's Foreign Ministry has summoned the ambassadors of Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands over what it called "unconstructive" statements regarding Iran's alleged role in the Ukraine conflict, state media reported on September 12.

The move follows the imposition of new sanctions on Iran by the United States and several European countries, accusing Tehran of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine.

Majid Nili Ahmadabadi, Director-General of Western Europe at Iran's Foreign Ministry, told the diplomats that "any claim of selling ballistic missiles to Russia by the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely baseless and false".

He added, "The US and some European allies speak of security and peace while they themselves are the source of tension production and crisis intensification in the world by selling deadly weapons, including to the Zionist regime".

The US Treasury Department on September 10 sanctioned 20 individuals, entities and ships in Iran and Russia, including Iran Air, alleging their involvement in weapons shipments to Moscow.

Washington accused Iran of providing Russia with Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles, calling the move a “dramatic escalation” of the war.

In a coordinated move, Britain, France and Germany issued a joint statement announcing the cancellation of bilateral air service agreements with Iran and sanctions on Iran Air.

Iran views these actions as an attempt to divert global attention from the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

"The new round of Western sanctions... has been designed and implemented with the aim of changing the direction and priority of public minds in the world from the unjust war in Gaza towards the Ukraine issue", the state news agency IRNA reported.

The European diplomats stated they would relay Iran's message to their respective capitals.

Earlier on September 12, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on September 12, unveiling a combined aid package of $2.3bn to support Ukraine’s ongoing fight against Russia, but there was no breakthrough on the pressing issue of permission to use Nato-supplied missiles to strike targets in Russia.

“We remain committed to Ukraine’s victory,” Blinken said at a press conference. “The bottom line is this: We want Ukraine to win.”

Blinken said he and Lammy would report back to their “bosses” after their talks in Kyiv with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, suggesting no decision on granting permission to use long-range missiles will be reached during the visit.