Germany and eight other EU member states are planning to expand sanctions on Iran to include individuals and organizations linked to violence against protesters in the country, magazine Der Spiegel reported, without disclosing its sources.
A package containing 31 proposals was introduced in Brussels on Wednesday targeting individuals and institutions in the security sector as well as companies responsible for suppression in Iran, the magazine reported.
Measures include the freezing of assets and travel bans, the magazine said, adding the package had a good chance of being approved by EU foreign ministers at their next meeting on Nov. 14.
The German government had no immediate comment.
Ties between Tehran and the West are increasingly strained as Iranians keep up anti-government protests.
Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations, wrapping up two days of talks in the historic western German city of Muenster, released a joint statement asserting common positions on Ukraine, Russia, China and recent developments in Iran and North Korea.
The G7 is made up of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
The ministers called out Iran for allegedly supplying weapons including drones to Russia and for a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.
They condemned Iran's “brutal and disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters and children”, as well as Tehran's “continued destabilizing activities in and around the Middle East.”
