Iran Threatens Retaliation over Sanctions Imposed by EU, Britain

Protesters block a street in Iran. Reuters file photo
Protesters block a street in Iran. Reuters file photo
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Iran Threatens Retaliation over Sanctions Imposed by EU, Britain

Protesters block a street in Iran. Reuters file photo
Protesters block a street in Iran. Reuters file photo

Iran on Tuesday strongly condemned fresh sanctions imposed by the European Union and Britain and said it would retaliate, after the West stepped up pressure on Iran over its crackdown on protests.

Tehran “will soon announce the list of new sanctions against the human rights violators of EU and England," Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a statement.

The European Union imposed sanctions on more than 30 Iranian officials and organizations, including units of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), blaming them for a "brutal" crackdown on unrest and other human rights abuses.

Some EU governments and the European Parliament have made clear they want the IRGC as a whole added to the bloc's list of terrorist organizations. But the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, noted that could only happen if a court in an EU country determined the IRGC was guilty of terrorism.

The United States and Britain also issued new sanctions against Iran, reflecting a deterioration in the West's already dire relations with Tehran.

The sanctions are the latest response to Iran's deadly clampdown on unrest after the death of young Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody in September.



Iran Tells France its Nuclear Rights ‘Cannot Be Taken Away by Threats or War'

This photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally on Feb. 10, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)
This photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally on Feb. 10, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)
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Iran Tells France its Nuclear Rights ‘Cannot Be Taken Away by Threats or War'

This photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally on Feb. 10, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)
This photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally on Feb. 10, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday that his country's right to pursue a civilian nuclear program cannot be taken away by war, as it traded fire with Israel for a ninth day.

"Iran has always announced that it is ready to provide guarantees and build confidence in its peaceful nuclear activities within the framework of international law," Pezeshkian told French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call, according to the official IRNA news agency.

"The rights granted to countries and nations by international law cannot be taken away from them by threats or war."