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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
    Asharq A-Awsat
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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.

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More than a Dozen Migrants Die as Boats Sink off Greece, Türkiye

A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture
A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture
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More than a Dozen Migrants Die as Boats Sink off Greece, Türkiye

A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture
A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture

A boat carrying migrants from Türkiye to a nearby Greek island sank Thursday morning, leaving at least seven people dead, including three children, Greece’s coast guard said. Turkish authorities reported what appeared to be a separate sinking in the same area, with nine people dead.
The two accidents reportedly occurred several hours apart in the narrow stretch of the Aegean Sea between the Greek island of Lesbos and the Turkish coast, with both sides unaware of the other nation’s rescue efforts.
Greece's coast guard said a dinghy carrying migrants began taking on water and 23 people were rescued and the bodies of three women, two boys, one girl and one man were recovered, The AP news reported. 
The survivors were taken to a migrant camp on the island. The search and rescue operation continued into Thursday afternoon as the exact number of people who had been on board the dinghy was unclear.
Weather in the area was reported to have been good. The nationalities of those on board were not immediately known.
Separately in Türkiye, the Canakkale governor’s office said the Turkish coast guard received an emergency call for help from a migrant boat and deployed three boats and a helicopter.
The statement said that nine bodies had been recovered and the search for one missing person continued, while 25 people were rescued.
Greece is one of the main entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with many making the short but often treacherous journey from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in inflatable dinghies or other small boats. Many are unseaworthy, or set out in bad weather, and fatal accidents have been common.
The Greek government has cracked down with increased patrols at sea, and many smuggling rings have shifted their operations south, using larger boats to transport people from the northern coast of Africa to southern Greece.
Last year, more than 54,000 people used what has become known as the eastern Mediterranean route heading to Greece, and more than 7,700 crossed Greece's small land border with Türkiye, according to figures from the UN refugee agency. There were 125 people reported dead or missing.
By March 30, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said there had been just over 8,000 people arriving in Greece by sea and 755 by land since the start of 2025.