Germany: EU Seeking to Adopt New Iran Sanctions

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. AFP
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. AFP
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Germany: EU Seeking to Adopt New Iran Sanctions

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. AFP
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. AFP

The European Union will seek to adopt new sanctions against Iran next week over Tehran's deadly crackdown on protests, Germany's foreign minister said Wednesday.

"We are working flat out on the next package of sanctions," Annalena Baerbock said on Twitter. "We want to adopt it next week."

"We won't let up," she added. "We stand with the men and women of Iran, not only today, but as long as it is necessary."

EU foreign ministers are due to meet in Brussels on Monday.

The bloc had already imposed sanctions in mid-October against Iran's "morality police" and 11 officials including the telecommunications minister.

Iran has been rocked by demonstrations over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, following her arrest in Tehran for allegedly flouting the country's strict hijab dress rules for women.

The crackdown on nationwide protests since her death has killed at least 304 people, including 41 children and 24 women, says the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR).

Meanwhile, the German parliament adopted on Wednesday recommendations made by the three ruling parties, urging the German government to intensify pressure on the Iranian regime over its brutal repression of demonstrators.

The recommendations included a call on the government to close the “Hamburg Islamic Center” classified in Germany as an arm of Iran and as directly receiving instructions from the regime in Tehran.



Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
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Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS

Greece's government said Wednesday it is temporarily suspending asylum applications for migrants arriving on the island of Crete, following a spike in arrivals from Libya.

More than 2,000 migrants have landed on the island since the weekend, according to coast guard figures, bringing the total number of arrivals this year to over 10,000.

Speaking in parliament, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government also planned to build a detention site on Crete for migrants and was seeking direct collaboration between the Libya and Greek coast guards to turn back boats leaving the North African country.

“This emergency situation clearly demands emergency measures,” Mitsotakis told parliament Wednesday. “The Greek government has decided to inform the European Commission that ... it will suspend the processing of asylum applications — for an initial period of three months — for those arriving by sea from North Africa.”

According to The Associated Press, the suspension will apply only to migrants reaching Crete by sea. Migrants entering illegally will be detained, Mitsotakis said. “The Greek government is sending a firm message: the route to Greece is closing, and that message is directed at all human traffickers,” he said.

Overnight, a fishing trawler carrying 520 migrants from Libya was intercepted south of Crete. A bulk carrier that took all of the migrants onboard was rerouted to the port of Lavrio, near Athens, so that the migrants could be detained on a mainland facility, authorities said.