IRAN: The European Union has prepared to slap sanctions on Iran on Monday over a human rights crackdown on mostly women at public demonstrations over Mahsa Amini’s death, and several ministers have warned of separate new sanctions if Tehran’s involvement in the Ukraine crisis is ultimately proven.
In response to the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, while in police custody, the EU ministers have decided to impose travel bans and freeze the assets of about 15 Iranians implicated in the government crackdown that started last month against primarily female protestors.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated to reporters as she arrived at the meeting in Luxembourg. She added, “We will launch… a sanctions package today that will hold accountable those who are involved for the horrible atrocities against women, teenagers, and men.”
“Among those listed is the so-called morality police, which is basically a misnomer when you consider the atrocities perpetrated there,” she continued further.
Iran’s notorious morality police stand the prime accused in Amini’s death, as her distraught parents claim their daughter had been detained and bludgeoned to death. However, the authorities have countered these accusations and denied any wrongdoing, claiming that Amini’s death was caused by a shock in a coma.
Amini’s unfortunate demise sparked a wave of anti-government protests across the streets, boulevards, and public institutions, especially schools and other educational facilities, mostly orchestrated by women chanting slogans like “death to the dictator” and burning their hijabs and cutting their hair.
Furthermore, if Tehran’s involvement in Russia’s war on Ukraine is proven, additional EU sanctions on Iran will not be limited to blacklisting specific individuals, according to Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn.
“Then it will no longer be about sanctioning individuals,” he told reporters as he arrived for the EU meeting.
Iran found itself incriminated in human rights abuse and war crimes against humanity when Ukraine reported that Russian shelling was caused by Iran-made Shahed-136 drones in recent weeks. The country denies its involvement, but the Kremlin has not yet responded to the matter.
“What we can see now is that Iranian drones are apparently being used to attack in the middle of Kyiv, which is an atrocity,” Denmark’s Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said, adding that the EU needed to take “concrete steps” in response, as well as Tehran cracking down on protesters.
France and Germany, both parties to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, have made it clear that they believed new sanctions in connection to the drones used by Russia were crucial given that such military hardware transfers violated a resolution by the U.N. Security Council.
According to two diplomats involved in preparing ministerial talks, the EU may decide to impose new sanctions against Iran over the matter, though no detailed decisions are expected on Monday.
“We will look for concrete evidence about Iran’s participation (in the Ukraine war),” Josep Borrell said as he arrived for the meeting, adding that Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba would attend.
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