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.



Germany Must Honor Visa Obligations to Afghan Refugees, Rules Court

An activist depicting Chancellor Friedrich Merz shows a broken "promise" lettering in a symbolic protest action for the continuation of visa issuance under the admission programs for vulnerable Afghans, in connection with the first wave of lawsuits against the Federal Foreign Office and the suspending and reassess all refugee programs of the German government, in Berlin, Germany June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
An activist depicting Chancellor Friedrich Merz shows a broken "promise" lettering in a symbolic protest action for the continuation of visa issuance under the admission programs for vulnerable Afghans, in connection with the first wave of lawsuits against the Federal Foreign Office and the suspending and reassess all refugee programs of the German government, in Berlin, Germany June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
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Germany Must Honor Visa Obligations to Afghan Refugees, Rules Court

An activist depicting Chancellor Friedrich Merz shows a broken "promise" lettering in a symbolic protest action for the continuation of visa issuance under the admission programs for vulnerable Afghans, in connection with the first wave of lawsuits against the Federal Foreign Office and the suspending and reassess all refugee programs of the German government, in Berlin, Germany June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
An activist depicting Chancellor Friedrich Merz shows a broken "promise" lettering in a symbolic protest action for the continuation of visa issuance under the admission programs for vulnerable Afghans, in connection with the first wave of lawsuits against the Federal Foreign Office and the suspending and reassess all refugee programs of the German government, in Berlin, Germany June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

A German court ruled on Tuesday that the government is obliged to issue visas to Afghan nationals and their family members who were accepted into a humanitarian admissions program that the new center-right coalition intends to shut down.

A foreign ministry official said the government was reviewing the decision, which is not yet legally binding.

After the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 by Western allies, Germany established several programs to resettle local staff as well as particularly vulnerable Afghans.

Since May 2021, Germany has admitted about 36,500 vulnerable Afghans including former local staff by various pathways.

Some 2,400 Afghans approved for admission are waiting in Pakistan to travel to Germany without a clear idea of when, as the programme has been suspended pending a government review, the foreign ministry in Berlin said this month, Reuters reported.

The court decision, in response to an urgent appeal by an Afghan woman and her family, ruled that the government was legally bound to honour its "irrevocable" commitment to them.

"The applicants assert that they are entitled to a visa and can no longer remain in Pakistan. They face deportation to Afghanistan, where they fear for their lives," it said.

However, the government is within its rights to end the program for Afghans and refrain from issuing any new admission commitments going forward, according to the court in Berlin.

NGOs have said that an additional 17,000 Afghans are in the early stages of selection and application under the now-dormant scheme.

The court's decision can be appealed.

Germany's new government has pledged a tougher stance on migration after several high-profile attacks and the rise of the far right made it a pivotal issue in February elections.

As a part of that push, conservative Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has vowed to halt refugee admission programs and to deport people to Afghanistan and Syria.