BRUSSELS: The EU on Thursday dismissed retaliatory sanctions Iran announced on European individuals and media outlets as “purely politically motivated” and expressed concern about the regime’s ongoing violent repression of protests.
“The European Union rejects the sanctions as they appear to be purely politically motivated,” foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano told journalists.
“On the contrary, when you take the EU sanctions (on Iran), they are adopted on clear legal grounds, based on the evidence of human rights violations in Iran.”
Iran on Wednesday announced sanctions against eight institutions and 12 individuals based in the EU, claiming they were “supporting terrorist groups”, “inciting violence” and “provoking riots, violence and terrorist acts” in the Islamic republic in relation to the anti-regime protests.
The Iranian blacklist includes the International Committee in Search of Justice, the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism, and the Persian versions of German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and Radio France Internationale.
European and French politicians and two individuals at the German tabloid newspaper Bild are among those sanctioned by the Iranian government.
The Iranian sanctions include a visa ban and the seizure of any property or assets the targeted individuals and entities might happen to have in Iran.
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They were in response to October 17 sanctions the EU imposed against Iran’s “morality police” and 11 officials including the telecommunications minister.
They were drawn up for the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who died September 16 after being taken into custody by the “morality police”, and subsequent repression that has included internet blackouts.
Stano said that “instead of focusing on political retaliation and counter sanctions”, Iran’s regime needed “to listen to their own population, to the young people, and to grant them the basic rights including the right to the freedom of expression”.
He said the EU was concerned about the crackdown by Iran’s security forces that has resulted in “not only injuries during these protests… but also deaths of protesters”.