EU Slaps New Sanctions on Iran

EU Headquarters in Brussels (File photo: Reuters)
EU Headquarters in Brussels (File photo: Reuters)
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EU Slaps New Sanctions on Iran

EU Headquarters in Brussels (File photo: Reuters)
EU Headquarters in Brussels (File photo: Reuters)

The European Union on Monday imposed new sanctions on Iran, targeting five officials and two entities for their role in the violent crackdown on mass protests in Iran.

The European Council said that the new sanctions targeted an Iranian official in charge of enforcing the laws of wearing the veil and the Student Basij Organization (SBO), which acts as the IRGC's violent enforcers on university campuses.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said before announcing the sanctions that the EU will not accept the human rights violations in Iran.

Baerbock said the enforced hijab means that women's rights in Iran are still not respected, according to the German news agency.

Regarding the new sanctions, the minister said that other people responsible for human rights violations would be included on the sanctions list, especially from the IRGC.

The Council announced that it would also list the IRGC Cooperative Foundation, which is responsible for managing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' investments and funneling money into the regime's brutal repression.

The new listings include the current commander of the Tehran Police Relief Unit of Iran's Law Enforcement Forces (LEF).

The new sanctions include an asset freeze, a travel ban to the EU, and a prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to those listed. A ban on exports to Iran of equipment that might be used for internal repression and equipment for monitoring telecommunications is also in place.

EU's restrictive measures now apply to 216 individuals and 37 entities.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International called on Iran to immediately halt its public execution of two Afghans convicted of "armed rebellion."

In a statement, the organization expressed concern after judicial authorities in Fars province announced that the two would be executed soon in Shiraz.

Iranian state media said they were convicted of an armed attack in Shiraz on October 26, 2022.

Amnesty said all countries should condemn the Iranian authorities' appalling use of the death penalty in the strongest possible terms.

The Human Rights Organization in Iran reported last Friday that the judicial authorities executed three protesters in Isfahan Central Prison, which was met with widespread international condemnation.

Iran witnessed protests across the country following the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, who died in September last year.



Iran Condemns the Killing of Embassy Staffer in Damascus

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei (Archive photo – MEHR)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei (Archive photo – MEHR)
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Iran Condemns the Killing of Embassy Staffer in Damascus

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei (Archive photo – MEHR)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei (Archive photo – MEHR)

Iran denounced on Sunday the killing of one of its embassy staffers in Damascus describing the act as a “terrorist attack”.
The spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, condemned the killing of Seyed Davood Bitaraf, a local staff member at the Iranian Embassy in Damascus.
“Davood Bitaraf was martyred last Sunday in a terrorist attack by individuals who opened gunfire at his vehicle in Damascus”, Iran’s Mehr news agency quoted Baqaei.
He added that Bitaraf’s body was found and identified and then transported back to Iran in the past few days.
The spokesman emphasized that the Syrian transitional government must take responsibility for identifying the perpetrators of this crime, bringing them to justice, and ensuring they are held accountable.
He also confirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely monitoring the matter through appropriate diplomatic and international channels.
In earlier statements, Baqaei had said that the reopening of the Iranian embassy in Damascus is contingent upon ensuring the security of the embassy and its diplomatic personnel.
Following the overthrow of Bashar Assad's regime by Syrian armed factions on the 8th of December, the Iranian embassy, which had been stormed, was closed. Since 2011, Iran has supported Bashar Assad's government in its fight against armed groups.