EU ambassadors will consider a Dutch proposal for a new sanctions package against Iran in the wake of Iran’s crackdown on protesters, two diplomats told Euronews.
The proposed sanctions would fall under the EU’s human rights sanctions regime against Iran and would be in addition to the broader travel ban and asset freeze already in place.
“It also includes freezing new personal assets,” one diplomat said, adding that the issue would be discussed as early as later today when the 27 ambassadors of the Political Security Committee meet in Brussels.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kalas has already signaled Iran has said it is ready to push for new sanctions against Iran following a crackdown that has reportedly claimed hundreds of lives since protests began nearly two weeks ago.
The death toll from protests continues to rise. A Norway-based Iranian human rights group said on Monday that at least 648 protesters had been killed by Iranian security forces.
The adoption of new sanctions by the EU would be a concrete follow-up to a wave of criticism of the Iranian regime by Western leaders.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned what he called “state violence” against Iranian protesters, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Iran’s use of “disproportionate and brutal violence” was a “sign of weakness.”
The new measures will be in addition to a wide range of sanctions already imposed on Iran, primarily including travel bans and asset freezes, in response to serious human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation activities, and military support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
The EU has sanctioned more than 230 Iranians, including the country’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and more than 40 other groups.
However, the EU’s approach to the current crisis stands in stark contrast to the US military threat.
US President Donald Trump recently said that if Iranian leaders kill protesters, he would “attack them very harshly.” No decision has reportedly been made yet, but US media reports say the US president has been briefed on new options for a military strike in the country.
