Iran vows response to new EU, UK sanctions over protests
24 Jan 2023 05:32pm
Iran has been gripped by demonstrations since the September 16, 2022, death in custody of Masha Amini, a young Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code for women. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
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The EU and Britain on Monday slapped another round of sanctions on Iran, which has been rocked by protests since the September 16 death of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd arrested for allegedly breaching the country's strict dress code for women.
Iran's warning of tit-for-tat measures comes after relations deteriorated sharply, with the EU and Britain ramping up sanctions over the authorities' response to the protests.
"The move by the European Union and the British regime is a sign of their mental inability to properly understand the realities of Iran, as well as their confusion regarding the authority of the Islamic republic," foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.
He said Iran "reserves the right to reciprocate against such failed policies and will soon announce the list of new sanctions against human rights violators and promoters of terrorism in the European Union and England".
The EU imposed its fourth round of sanctions against Iran since the protests started, placing 37 more officials and entities on an asset freeze and visa ban blacklist.
The bloc targeted the minister of sports and the command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of Iran's military, in 12 regions of the country as well as lawmakers and senior state media officials.
Britain on the same day sanctioned five more Iranian officials, broadening its blacklist to 50 individuals and organisations it considers to be involved in dealing with the protests.
Also on Monday, the United States added 10 Iranian individuals and one entity -- most of them linked to the Revolutionary Guards -- to its list of human rights-related sanctions.
"This is the ninth round of designations targeting actors responsible for the crackdown on peaceful demonstrators since the nationwide protests began in 2022," the US State Department said in a statement.
The Iranian foreign ministry did not respond to the new US measures in its Tuesday statement.
Targeting IRGC
Iran has previously responded to EU and UK sanctions by placing persons and entities from both on its own sanctions list, banning them from entry to Iran and freezing any assets they may have.
The EU has already imposed sanctions on more than 60 Iranian officials and entities over the crackdown on protesters, including the "morality police", state media and individual IRGC commanders.
But the 27-nation bloc has so far stopped short of blacklisting the IRGC as a whole despite calls from Germany and the Netherlands to do so.
Iran has warned the bloc against the move and EU officials are wary it could kill off stalled talks they have been mediating on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell insisted there needed to be a legal ruling in an EU member state before the bloc could make the move.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said the new sanctions were a sign of EU and UK "desperation, frustration and fury over their recent scandalous failure in creating instability in Iran despite huge efforts and costs".
The authorities say hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed and thousands arrested during what they label as "riots" incited by the "enemies" of the Islamic republic.
Iran's judiciary has sentenced to death a total of 18 people in connection with the protests. Four of them have already been executed, triggering widespread international outrage. - Bernama
