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 Says It Detained 21,000 Suspects During the June War with Israel

A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard stands guard at Enqelab-e-Eslami square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP)
A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard stands guard at Enqelab-e-Eslami square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP)
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Iran Says It Detained 21,000 Suspects During the June War with Israel

A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard stands guard at Enqelab-e-Eslami square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP)
A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard stands guard at Enqelab-e-Eslami square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP)

Iran’s police detained 21,000 suspects during the 12-day air war between Israel and Iran in June, state media reported on Tuesday.

A report by state TV quoted a police spokesperson, Gen. Saeed Montazeralmahdi, as saying people reported the suspects to the authorities. “The arrest of 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war indicated high awareness and participation of people in providing security," he said.

Montazeralmahdi did not elaborate on what charges the suspects might face. However, he said more than 260 were suspected of spying and other 172 were arrested because of illegal filming.

He added that police put more than 1,000 checkpoints across the country during the conflict, between June 13-24.

This is the first time Iran’s police has given a total number of arrests during the war. In recent weeks Iran occasionally reported about the arrests of suspects on spying charges.

Since the end of June, Iran has executed seven men convicted of spying for Israel, sparking fears from activists that the government could conduct a wave of executions.

Israel carried out waves of airstrikes on Iran, killing nearly 1,100 people, including many military commanders. Retaliatory Iranian strikes killed 28 people in Israel.