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The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has signalled that the bloc is prepared to push for fresh sanctions on Iran after a crackdown that has reportedly claimed hundreds of lives since protests began nearly two weeks ago.
Kallas and the EU’s diplomatic arm, the European External Action Service (EEAS), “stand ready to propose new sanctions,” a spokesperson told Euronews, adding to the wide range of sanctions already in place against Iran.
Kallas’s initiative comes as Iran’s death toll continues to rise following demonstrations that erupted on 28 December over the collapse of the Iranian rial.
According to a report by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, more than 10,600 people have been detained during the two weeks of protests. Of the reported fatalities, 48 were security personnel and 496 were demonstrators.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said recently that Brussels was “monitoring” the situation, echoing an earlier call from Parliament President Roberta Metsola, the first EU leader to urge Europe to “understand its duty and the need to act.”
The EU has adopted a wide-ranging set of sanctions against Iran – mainly travel bans and asset freezes – in response to serious human rights violations, nuclear proliferation activities, and military support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
The bloc has sanctioned more than 230 Iranians, including the country’s interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as more than 40 other entities.
However, the EU’s approach to the current crisis stands in sharp contrast to US military threats.
US President Donald Trump recently said he would be “hitting them very hard” if Iranian leaders kill protesters. Although no decision has reportedly been made, US media reports say the American president is being briefed on new options for military strikes in the country.
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