From . – 19.01.2023 17:18 (act. 19.01.2023 17:19)
EU Parliament calls for more sanctions against Iran. ©AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias (icon image)
On Thursday, the EU Parliament called for more sanctions in view of continued human rights violations in Iran.
MEPs have called for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and head of state Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to be added to the EU sanctions list, according to a resolution passed in Strasbourg on Thursday. The same applies to all persons and institutions responsible for human rights violations.
EU parliament calls for sanctions against Iranian Revolutionary Guards
The Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s elite armed forces, must be placed on the EU’s terrorist list by the Council and member states, along with their auxiliary troops, the European Parliament has demanded. MEP Andreas Schieder (SPÖ) clearly supported demand on Thursday. “But it shouldn’t just stop with a condemnation, the EU must take concrete action against authoritarian religious leadership,” he said in a broadcast. “The first and most urgent objective of EU diplomacy” is to prevent the execution of death sentences.
EU foreign ministers discuss sanctions against Iran
EU foreign ministers want to formally decide on new sanctions at a meeting on Monday, diplomats confirmed. According to the information, they will meet with about three dozen people and organizations involved in the brutal repression of protests across the country after the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Jina Mahsa Amini. It is not yet known who will be affected by the sanctions.
The leftist politician and president of the delegation of Iran in the European Parliament, Cornelia Ernst, said after the approval of the resolution in Parliament in Strasbourg: “A regime that kills even children has lost its raison d’être, and that is why tough sanctions against perpetrators are fair and reasonable, clear support from the Iranian resistance is needed.”
Iran condemns EU parliament’s call for more sanctions
Iran condemned in preparation for a possible terrorist listing of the Revolutionary Guards by the European Union. On Thursday morning, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described a corresponding proposal by the European Parliament as “reckless and wrong”. The project is “a shot in the foot,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying in a statement. Meanwhile, the internet was restricted again.
The authorities justified the two-day bans planned to start this Thursday with an exam phase – the university entrance exams are awaited – and concerns about possible fraud. Residents of the capital Tehran confirmed massive restrictions on Thursday morning, which also affected online transfers. At the same time, some protest organizations called new demonstrations. It was initially unclear if the internet blocks were related to this. Again and again, Iran restricts the Internet before the protests.
Revolutionary Guards crack down on protests in Iran
Recently, street demonstrations in Iran have subsided again. Many opponents of the system are now voicing their protest against the government’s repressive course and the Islamic system of government through civil disobedience, such as ignoring the mandatory headscarf. The protests were triggered by Amini’s death in police custody in mid-September 2022. She had been arrested by the so-called vice police for violating Islamic dress codes. Since her death, the political leadership has come under more pressure than it has in decades.
Iran’s elite military, established after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, has grown to become an economic powerhouse in recent decades. Criticism of the unit has been mounting for its role in quelling the recent wave of protests. Many Iranians and politicians in Europe are calling for the Revolutionary Guards to be classified as a terrorist organization. The US had already taken the step under Donald Trump in 2019. Given the numerous human rights violations since the demonstrations began in mid-September, the EU has already imposed sanctions on many high-ranking Revolutionary Guard officers.