Syed Zafar Mehdi
25 January 2023•Update: 25 January 2023
TEHRAN, Iran
In a tit-for-tat move, Iran on Wednesday announced fresh sanctions against dozens of individuals and entities affiliated with the European Union and the UK.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said it was placing 22 individuals and three entities from the EU on its sanctions list, as well as eight individuals and one entity from the UK.
The ministry said the move was taken with the “approval of concerned authorities” and “in the framework of relevant regulations and sanctions mechanisms.”
It accused those designated of “supporting terrorism, instigating terrorist acts and violence, interference in Iran’s domestic affairs, fomenting violence and unrest, dissemination of false information and participation in the escalation of cruel sanctions against the Iranian people.”
It came two days after the EU imposed sanctions on more than 30 Iranian officials and organizations, including units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for crackdown on protesters during months of unrest in Iran.
The EU sanctions will prevent those Iranian officials and entities from traveling to the EU countries, and their assets in the bloc’s member states will also be frozen.
The UK government also announced fresh sanctions targeting seven Iranian individuals in the judiciary, police, the IRGC, and Basij forces.
The sanctions drew Iranian fire, vowing to respond with penalties against individuals and entities in the West that "violate human rights."
The individuals from the EU in the Iranian list of sanctions include Oliver Klein, a French minister, Dietmar Koster, a German member of the European Parliament, Tim Zahn, a German cyber security chief, Gerad Biard, editor of Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly among others.
Rasmus Paludan, a Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist who burned a copy of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, in Sweden last week, is also included in the list.
From the UK, attorney general Victoria Prentis and her deputy as well as UK army chief Patrick Sanders and former Defense Secretary Liam Fox featured on the list.
Tensions between Iran and the EU have heightened in recent weeks after the European Parliament in a non-binding resolution last week sought to put the IRGC on the list of terrorist groups.
Members of the European Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution that calls for “the EU and its member states to include the IRGC on the EU’s terrorist list, evoking strong reactions from Tehran.
