Iran announces retaliation against the EU

Tehran has responded to new penalties imposed by Brussels

Iran has imposed retaliatory sanctions against a number of EU officials, media outlets and NGOs alleging that individuals and institutions in bloc are fueling ongoing rioting in the country.

In a statement on Wednesday, Tehran's Foreign Ministry condemned Brussels for targeting entities in Iran with sanctions earlier this month.

It announced imposing retaliatory measures against parties that are engaged in “encouraging and inciting terrorism, violence, and hatred,” allegedly causing riots and terrorist attacks in Iran.

The list of organizations has several media outlets, including Germany’s Deutsche Welle Persian and France’s RFI Persian. Iran also sanctioned a number of NGOs, such as the French-funded International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism.

Among the individuals on the blacklist are top figures in the sanctioned organizations as well as some European officials, including MEPs, French lawmakers, and the heads of French municipalities. Tehran also imposed restrictions on two senior figures in the newsroom of the German tabloid Bild.

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The measure prevents sanctioned individuals from traveling to Iran. Any property of people and groups on the list in Iranian jurisdiction would be confiscated.

On October 17, the EU imposed sanctions against Iranian organizations and officials, whom Brussels accused of violating human rights. The move came in the wake of large-scale protests in the county, which were triggered by the death of a young woman in police custody.

Mahsa Amini, 22, was arrested by Iran’s morality police and died hours later. Authorities said she had a pre-existing medical condition that had proven to be fatal, but some members of her family claimed she was beaten to death.

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The EU sanctions targeted the police branch, officially named Gasht-e-Ershad (Guidance Patrol), as well as organizations involved in Iran’s response to the mass protests and riots. A statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry called those sanctions “baseless” and interfering with Iranian domestic affairs.