Europe Ponders Fresh Sanctions On Iran
No specifics as yet have emerged over new measures against Iran the European Union is set to impose at a foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxemburg Monday.
No specifics as yet have emerged over new measures against Iran the European Union is set to impose at a foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxemburg Monday.
Although the ministers’ agenda is focused on the Russia-Ukraine crisis, EU relations with China, and November’s ‘Cop 27’ United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday it was “time to sanction those [in Iran] responsible…for the repression of women.”
French foreign minister Catherine Colonna said last week the EU was considering asset freezes and travel bans. Agreement on any measures would require unanimous agreement from the EU’s 27 member states.
Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief said October 5 that Europe was considering “all the options at our disposal, including restrictive measures, to address the killing of Mahsa Amini and the way Iranian security forces have been responding to the demonstrations.” Borrell tweeted October 6 that he had discussed with Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian the case of Amini, who died September 16 in disputed circumstances after she was detained by Tehran ‘morality police.’
The United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have already sanctioned Iran’s morality police and designated named senior commanders in both the morality police and general police force. Canada has banned 10,000 members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps from entering the country.
‘Action Plan on Human Rights’
The EU, along with the UK, lifted energy and financial sanctions against Iran when Tehran agreed with world powers the 2015 nuclear agreement, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). But when the US left the agreement in 2018 and threatened punitive action against third parties dealing with Iran, European firms, including energy majors Total and Shell and car-makers, Renault and Daimler, withdrew from Tehran.
The EU has maintained a range of sanctions against named Iranian individuals and entities over military technology, nuclear-related transfers, as well as “restrictive measures in view of the human rights situation in Iran” and Tehran’s involvement in the war in Syria.
Committed by its ‘Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024’ to “further advancing universal values for all,” the EU has imposed sanctions on China, Eritrea, Libya, North Korea, South Sudan, and Russia over alleged human rights violations. It also implements United Nations sanctions.
The EU, like the US administration of President Joe Biden, has argued that efforts to revive the JCPOA should be kept distinct from other issues including Iran’s regional links or its reaction to internal unrest. Amir-Abdollahian tweeted Tuesday, after speaking to France’s Colonna by phone, that “violence & terror should be confronted” and that Tehran would “reciprocate if EU restrictive measures applied.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada has designated Iran's IRGC leadership, adding that “we will restrict financial transactions with the Islamic Republic of Iran associated with the IRGC and the proxies that support them. These actions are some of the strongest measures anywhere against Iran.”
Trudeau also told Iranian women, from schoolgirls to grandmothers, "We stand with you, and we will continue to do so." He added, “To the strong, resilient, and proud Iranian Canadian community, we hear your voices. We heard your calls for action.”
“We’re using the most powerful tools at our disposal to crack down on Iran's brutal regime. We'll be pursuing a listing of IRGC leadership under our Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, making over 10,000 senior IRGC members inadmissible to Canada,” he said.
International reactions to Iran’s crackdown on ongoing popular protests are growing, with more and more countries condemning Tehran’s behavior, summoning envoys, or adopting resolutions.
He also touched upon the issue of money-laundering and the IRGC’s vast sway across the Middle East, saying, “We intend to massively expand targeted sanctions under Special Economic Measures Act to hold to account those people most responsible for Iran's egregious behavior. We are expanding Canada’s capacity to fight money laundering and illicit financial activity, as well as to crack down on foreign interference to protect Iranian Canadians and other communities in Canada.”
Deputy premier and finance minister Chrystia Freeland said, “The IRGC leadership are terrorists, the IRGC is a terrorist organization. And today by listing the Iranian regime and the IRGC leadership under Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, we're recognizing these facts."
However, the Canadian government did not officially designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization as many were expecting. Asked about why the government has refrained from such a step, Trudeau avoided a direct answer, saying that his government has found the best legal provisions to put strong sanctions, similar to measures implemented during the Bosnian and Rwandan conflicts.
On October 3, Canada imposed new sanctions on Iran under the Special Economic Measures Act, in response to gross human rights violations, including its systematic persecution of women and in particular, the egregious actions committed by Iran’s so-called ‘Morality Police’ and its leadership. Canada also implemented sanctions against Iran’s security and intelligence apparatus for its destabilizing activities across the region and the regime’s propaganda and misinformation apparatus.
The US State Department also said on Friday that it would continue to coordinate with its allies and partners on how to respond to Iran's "bloody crackdown" on protesters and its "state-sponsored violence" against women.
Earlier on Friday, 30 Conservative members of UK Houses of Commons and Lords stressed that the prospect of change in Iran has never been this strong, urging the UK government to recognize the right of the Iranian people to defend themselves by any means necessary and to overthrow the regime.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution Thursday condemning Mahsa Amini’s killing and voiced support for protests demanding change in the country.
The resolution instructed all member states “to use the mechanisms envisaged in the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders to support and protect these individuals [activists, protesters], in particular women’s rights defenders and EU-Iranian dual nationals.”
US Envoy for Iran Rob Malley told NPR that "What US wants is a government in Iran that respects people's fundamental rights. It's not a policy of regime change. It's a policy of backing people who're protesting peacefully, because they want to be able not to wear a headscarf yet face oppressive system."
