Iran condemns ‘meddlesome’ sanctions by EU, UK over alleged rights violations during unrest
Iran's Foreign Ministry has denounced as “baseless, illegal and meddlesome” the new rounds of sanctions on the country by the European Union and the UK over what they called Tehran’s use of force in recent riots.
In a statement on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said that Iran reserves the right to retaliate in kind.
He said “addiction to sanctions” has deprived European parties of rationality and tactfulness, warning that Europe itself is tightening the noose on its foreign relations by such a wrong-headed approach.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, relying on its national power and making use of its unique experiences in actively dealing with imposed challenges, will take effective countermeasures against such fruitless and unconstructive measures, as it did before, by upholding its honor and protecting its national interest,” he added.
On Monday, the EU announced a new round of sanctions against Iran after accusing the Islamic Republic of crackdown on protests.
The bloc targeted 29 individuals and three entities with asset freezes and travel bans for their role in both the death of Mahsa Amini and the response to the ensuing nationwide riots.
The bloc’s sanctions targeted Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, four members of the police squad that arrested Amini, high-ranking members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), including its provincial commanders, and the commander of the Iranian Army’s Ground Force.
It also sanctioned Press TV news channel, which it accused of airing “forced confessions of detainees.”
On the same day, Britain also imposed sanctions on Iranian officials, including Iranian telecoms minister Issa Zarepour and a range of local law enforcement and security officials over what it claimed to be a “violent repression of protests” in the country. The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans.
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In the first round of sanctions earlier in October, the EU imposed travel bans and asset freezes on 15 Iranian individuals and institutions linked to Amini’s death and the alleged clamp-down on protests.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned at the time that Tehran will take reciprocal action if the European Union imposed any sanctions against the Islamic Republic under those allegations.
Iran also announced tit-for-tat sanctions against institutions and individuals in the European Union last month due to their deliberate actions in support of terrorism and terrorist groups.
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Riots broke out in Iran in mid-September after Amini’s death. The 22-year-old fainted at a police station in Tehran and was pronounced dead three days later in hospital. An official report by Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization concluded that her death was caused by illness rather than alleged blows to the head or other vital body organs.
Rioters went on a rampage, brutally attacking security officers and causing massive damage to public property as Western powers, especially the United States, provided them with support.
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said the United States and the United Kingdom were “directly” involved in the unrest, adding that dozens of terrorists affiliated with the Israeli regime and anti-Revolution groups have also been detained in the unrest.
