UK Issues Sanctions Against Violators Of Women’s Rights In Iran

"There is a growing consensus towards this decision. There are practical and legal issues that need to be sorted out but I think we might be getting there," he told American News Website Axios on Friday.

"We didn’t expect, as European Union, to have Iran knocking on our door. We thought it is a Middle East issue that we need to keep an eye on but what we are seeing now is that there is growing cooperation between Iran and Russia. Iran is coming closer to us. We need to have a reaction about that," he said.

Iran has supplied hundreds of kamikaze drones to Russia that have been used against Ukraine’s civilian targets.

Meanwhile, the Washington-based news magazine Foreign Policy quoted five US and NATO officials as saying that Iran is doubling down on military support for Russia in a series of new military deals that could prolong the war in Ukraine and offer sanction-battered Tehran new economic and defense lifelines.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell has said the European Union cannot list Iran's IRGC as a terrorist entity until an EU court has determined that they are.

The European Parliament has called on the EU to list the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist entity, blaming it for the repression of domestic protests and the supply of drones to Russia.

Upon arrival at the airport,Rafael Grossi was welcomed by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran’s spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, a deputy of the body’s head Mohammad Eslami.

According to a diplomatic source, Grossi is scheduled to meet with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi early Saturday morning, hoping to "relaunch the dialogue.” "Grossi wants to have the opportunity to restart the relationship at the highest level," the European source added.

A US State Department official said Wednesday that Washington is waiting for the head of the UN nuclear watchdog to meet with Iranian officials before deciding on its next steps in response to Tehran’s nuclear escalations, Al Arabiya reported.

The visit comes amid discussions with Tehran on the origin of uranium particles enriched to up to 83.7% purity, very close to weapons grade, at its Fordow enrichment plant, a report by the watchdog confirmed earlier in the week. Iran has rejected the claims of enrichment up to that level, with Eslami saying on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic's production is at 60 percent.

Iran began violating the 2015 nuclear deal’s (JCPOA) enrichment limit set at 3.67 percent in 2019 when the Trump administration imposed full oil export sanctions, but until the Biden administration came to office higher enrichment had stayed at around 5 percent. The UN watchdog has been demanding other explanations from Tehran about its secret nuclear work before 2003 and so far there has been no resolution.

The sanctions also target 20 shipping vessels linked to firms in China, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates, the Treasury Department's website showed.

The Biden administration has accelerated the imposition of sanctions on Iran since last September when antigovernment protests were met by a brutal government response. Iran’s weapons supply to Russia have also led to sanctions by the US, the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Iran has been shipping oil and oil products despite US sanctions, imposed since 2018, to China and other buyers, using clandestine methods. Third parties involved in sanctions violations are subject to US punitive measures.

The website did provide details on the new sanctions. A Treasury spokesperson referred questions to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The sanctions were issued under a 2018 U.S. executive order that restored sanctions targeting Iran's oil, banking and transportation sectors.

The Treasury Department issued a general license authorizing limited transactions with the sanctioned vessels under what it called a "wind-down" period through June 29, a document on its website showed.

Report by Reuters

The visit comes amid discussions with Tehran on the origin of uranium particles enriched to up to 83.7% purity, very close to weapons grade, at its Fordow enrichment plant, a report by the watchdog seen by Reuters confirmed on Tuesday.

Iran has rejected the claims of enrichment up to that level.

Iran began violating the 2015 nuclear deal’s (JCPOA) enrichment limit set at 3.67 percent in 2019 when the Trump administration imposed full oil export sanctions, but until the Biden administration came to office higher enrichment had stayed at around 5 percent.

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, said on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic's production is at 60 percent according to state media.

Iranian officials have been insisting that a few particles are sometimes enriched beyond set limits, but the quantity is negligible. Eslami repeated the same argument on Wednesday. It is not clear if the IAEA agrees with this explanation.

The UN watchdog has been demanding other explanations from Tehran about its secret nuclear work before 2003 and so far there has been no resolution.

Talks to revive the JCPOA reached an impasse last September while Iran continues to stockpile 60-percent enriched uranium. It is estimated that it can reach weapons grade enrichment in a matter of weeks and can produce four nuclear warheads.

In a statement Canada's foreign ministry announced on Monday that the targeted officials include Kurdistan Province Governor Esmaeil Zarei Kousha and Morteza Mir Aghaei, Commander of Basij paramilitary forces in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province.

The measures prohibit dealings with the listed individuals, effectively freezing any assets they may hold in Canada.

They are also inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, added the statement.

“Ottawa will continue to coordinate with its international partners to respond to the Iranian regime’s egregious treatment of its people, its deployment of propaganda and its actions that continue to threaten international peace and stability.”

Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada earlier stated that “The Iranian regime continues to brutally oppress its people and to deny them their fundamental rights and freedoms. We hear the pleas of the Iranian people, and we commend them for their bravery and resilience. Canada will not stop advocating for Iranians and their human rights.”

Iran’s suppression of nationwide protests since the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September has drawn condemnation from international community with US and EU imposing sanctions on the regime.