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Germany Suspends Measures to Promote Business with Iran

A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in support of Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by the country's morality police, on Istiklal avenue in Istanbul, Türkiye, on September 20, 2022. (AFP)
A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in support of Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by the country's morality police, on Istiklal avenue in Istanbul, Türkiye, on September 20, 2022. (AFP)
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Germany Suspends Measures to Promote Business with Iran

A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in support of Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by the country's morality police, on Istiklal avenue in Istanbul, Türkiye, on September 20, 2022. (AFP)
A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in support of Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by the country's morality police, on Istiklal avenue in Istanbul, Türkiye, on September 20, 2022. (AFP)

Germany's government is suspending state measures designed to foster business with Iran due to the repression of nationwide protests in Iran, the economy ministry said on Friday.

The suspension will affect export credits and investment guarantees as well as Germany's manager training and trade fair programs in Iran, the ministry said.

German-Iranian trade totaled $1.87 billion in 2021, according to Reuters.

The death in custody of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, after her arrest by the morality police for violating Iran's dress code, unleashed years of pent-up grievances in the country over issues ranging from tightening social and political controls to economic misery and discrimination against ethnic minorities.

Moreover, Luxembourg has expressed concern to Iran about one of its residents feared to have been detained and facing execution there, the government said on Friday.

Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn called his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday to address the situation, the statement said.

Luxembourg did not name the detainee but described him as "a resident of Luxembourg of Iranian origin who, according to available information, may have been arrested and condemned to capital punishment."

Tehran has launched a crackdown on a wave of anti-government demonstrations and announced at least 11 death sentences in connection with the protests.

It was not immediately clear whether the Luxembourg resident was among those. But Asselborn used his call "to plead in favor of the Iranian demonstrators risking their lives to win respect for their fundamental rights, and in particular for those who have been sentenced to death."

The statement did not report the Iranian minister's response.

In a related context, the United States has announced another round of sanctions against Iranian officers and the public prosecutor involved in the government’s crackdown on protesters.

The US Department of the Treasury said on Twitter that it was slapping sanctions on Iran’s Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri for issuing “a directive to courts to act decisively and issue harsh sentences to many of those arrested during the ongoing protests.”

The Imen Sanat Zaman Fara company was also designated by the US because it manufactures equipment used by Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces (LEF).

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Ukraine Says Russia Hit Vessel Carrying Ukrainian Grain to Egypt in Black Sea

A view shows a damaged civilian cargo vessel, carrying wheat grain to Egypt, which was hit by a Russian missile strike after it left Ukrainian maritime border in the Black Sea, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, September 12, 2024. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
A view shows a damaged civilian cargo vessel, carrying wheat grain to Egypt, which was hit by a Russian missile strike after it left Ukrainian maritime border in the Black Sea, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, September 12, 2024. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
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Ukraine Says Russia Hit Vessel Carrying Ukrainian Grain to Egypt in Black Sea

A view shows a damaged civilian cargo vessel, carrying wheat grain to Egypt, which was hit by a Russian missile strike after it left Ukrainian maritime border in the Black Sea, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, September 12, 2024. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
A view shows a damaged civilian cargo vessel, carrying wheat grain to Egypt, which was hit by a Russian missile strike after it left Ukrainian maritime border in the Black Sea, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, September 12, 2024. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

Ukraine accused Russia on Thursday of using strategic bombers to hit a civilian grain vessel with a missile in the Black Sea in NATO member Romania's maritime economic zone, in what it described as a "brazen attack" on freedom of navigation.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the vessel carrying Ukrainian grain to Egypt had been hit by a Russian missile just after it exited Ukrainian territorial waters, and that there were no casualties according to a preliminary assessment.

If confirmed, the incident would mark a sharp increase in tensions between Moscow and the NATO military alliance, which has tried to tack a course between fears of escalation and supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia since Moscow's invasion in February 2022, according to Reuters.

British maritime security company Ambrey said in a note that a Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged bulk carrier had been struck by a Russian-launched missile after departing from the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk in Ukraine's Odesa region.

The vessel sustained damage to its port side, including a cargo hold and a crane, it said.

Traders said the incident had contributed to stronger wheat prices by adding to concern over tightening supply in the Black Sea export zone. US futures rose as much as 2% to hit a two-month peak.

Zelenskiy posted images showing the twisted metal of a damaged crane and other damage.

An industry source told Reuters the strike had taken place overnight not far from the mouth of the Danube river. Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for Ukraine's navy, told Reuters, the vessel was in Romania's maritime economic zone.

Romania's Naval Authority said the vessel had not been in its territorial waters and that its assistance had not been requested in any way.

Zelenskiy wrote on X: "We are waiting for the world to react. Wheat and food security should never be targets for missiles."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the strike "a brazen attack on freedom of navigation and global food security."

Ukraine is a major global grain exporter that has had to battle Russia in the Black Sea to revive its exports through its sea ports since Russia's invasion imposed a de facto blockade.