German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced today, Saturday, that the European Union will impose new sanctions on Iran over its crackdown on recent protests as well as its alleged supply of drones to Russia.
On Monday, Tehran denied allegations that the Russian military used Iranian-made drones in a Russian special military operation in Ukraine.
Today, Saturday, the Associated Press quoted Schultz as saying the sanctions would also be a response to the Iranian government’s crackdown on protests.
According to Schultz, the protests and the measures taken against them by the authorities led to the death of more than 300 people and the arrest of 14,000 people.
The German chancellor noted that hundreds of thousands of people of Iranian origin live in Germany and they are worried about their relatives in Iran.
Schultz rejected accusations by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian of Berlin’s interference in Iran’s internal affairs, noting that in these circumstances the German government could not stand aside.
The Associated Press reported that European Union foreign ministers are expected to agree on restrictive measures against Iran next Monday.
Popular protests erupted in Iran in September following the death of a young woman, Mohasa Amini, after she was detained by Iranian authorities and police said her cause of death was a heart attack.
Source: Interfax