Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) The EU hit 32 individuals including two Iranian ministers in the latest package of sanctions, imposing visa bans and asset freezes.
This is the fifth round of sanctions over Tehran’s crackdown on anti-government protests, with the EU targeting authorities and officials accused of repression, according to France24 reporting on Monday.
Protests in Iran erupted in September last year when Mahsa Amini died in custody after morality police arrested her for not wearing the hijab.
According to the UN, Iranian authorities arrested more than 14,000 protesters, executing four for their involvement in unrests and sentencing a total of 18 to death.
The EU imposed sanctions on Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili, Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, for the persecution of artists who did not support the government. The bloc blacklisted Minister of Education Yousef Nouri for targeting students who took part in the protests.
Besides the two ministers, the EU also targeted senior prison officials, judges, and prosecutors for their alleged involvement in abuses.
Earlier measures
The bloc previously imposed sanctions against more than 70 individuals for the government crackdown, including members of the Iranian media and morality police.
Germany and the Netherlands previously called on the EU to label the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, as did the EU Parliament, but the bloc has stopped short of the move.
As the bloc’s foreign ministers imposed the sanctions, thousands of protesters gathered at the EU headquarters in Brussels and called for stricter measures against the IRGC.
The EU-mediated talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal have largely stalled as the bloc continues to expand sanctions over the crackdown on protests.
Later this week, the EU is to impose additional sanctions against Iranian drone manufacturers for supplying Russia as part of new measures over the war in Ukraine.
Also on Monday, the EU criticized Iran for detaining EU citizens, with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell stressing “the European Union strongly rejects Iran’s practice of arbitrary detention targeting EU citizens and dual EU-Iranian nationals.”
He called on Iranian authorities “to end the distressing practice of detaining foreign civilians with a view to making political gains.”
