NewsAnk Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe EU on Monday announced that it will extended a number of sanctions and restrictive measures on Iran in response to human rights violations in the country.
The sanction package, according to a Council of the European Union press release, involves a “travel ban and an asset freeze” and a ban on the export of any equipment which may be used for either “internal repression” or “monitoring telecommunications.” Sanctions will be extended until April 13, 2027. In addition to nationally targeted measures, the body sanctioned 262 individuals and 53 entities.
The council said Iran’s continued human rights abuses led to extending sanctions, which have continued since 2011 and have been annually extended. The EU expressed concern around “violence, arbitrary detention and intimidation tactics” against demonstrators in the country following deadly protest crackdowns in early January.
In early March, the EU condemned Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear program, describing it as a “threat to the region and to European and international security.” The body responded with “additional sanctions” as a purported means of protecting “EU security and interests” in light of continuing military tension in the Middle East.
On Monday, the UN called for greater focus on the rights of Iranians, raising concern that the US-Israel conflict with Iran is exacerbating the human rights situation.
The EU reiterated that Iranians’ freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly is protected under international law. It also urged Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and uphold its “legal obligations under Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement.”