Iran responded on Wednesday to the latest EU and UK sanctions by taking reciprocal measures, more than four months after the start of the protest movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.
Tehran has sanctioned 25 individuals and entities from the European Union, including 10 French, including the mayor of Paris, and 9 from the United Kingdom in retaliation for the sanctions imposed on Monday by the latter.
The Iranian authorities accuse these personalities of “supporting terrorism and terrorist groups”, “encouraging violence against the Iranian people” or “disseminating false information about Iran”, explained the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs .
Iranian sanctions include financial measures and a ban on issuing a visa to enter the country, according to the ministry.
The European Union denounced the “politically motivated” measures, arguing that the European sanctions had been “adopted for clear legal reasons”.
“The European Union will continue to call on the Iranian authorities to ensure […] basic freedoms for their people,” Peter Stano, spokesman for the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell, told AFP.
Iran warned on Tuesday that it would retaliate against the EU’s decision the day before to add 37 Iranian individuals or entities to its sanctions list for human rights violations.
Anne Hidalgo and “Charlie Hebdo”
In a coordinated move, the UK had sanctioned five individuals and two entities, while the US placed ten individuals and one entity on its list.
Tehran did not announce any new sanctions against the United States on Wednesday.
Iranian-European relations have steadily worsened in recent weeks, amid continued protest in Iran and accusations of supplying drones to Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine, which denies Tehran.
They have been exacerbated by the files of Westerners detained in Iran, the execution of the Iranian-British Alireza Akbari on January 14, and the non-binding vote of the European Parliament in favor of the placement of the Revolutionary Guards – ideological army of the Islamic Republic — on the list of terrorist organizations.
The French are the most numerous on the new Iranian list, with nine individuals and one entity, while five Germans, two Dutch, an Italian and a Spaniard are concerned.
Figure among the French Anne Hidalgo, the socialist mayor of Paris, who had cut a lock of hair in October “in support of Iranian women”.
The philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, declared defender of human rights, and Gilbert Mitterrand, son of former President François Mitterrand and president of the Danielle Mitterrand-France Libertés Foundation, are also targeted.
Tehran also targets three officials of Charlie Hebdo, in particular the editor-in-chief Gérard Biard. The satirical magazine had already been placed, as an entity, in the previous sanctions list, but it has since angered the Iranian authorities by publishing caricatures of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“Immediate and reciprocal action”
Radio J, based in France, and the association European Friends of Israel (EFI), active in the European Parliament, are among the three entities targeted.
The list also includes MEPs as well as Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan, who burned a copy of the Koran in Sweden on Saturday, sparking strong protests in several capitals of the Muslim world.
Among the nine Britons are Liam Fox, former defense minister, Tory MP Victoria Prentis and Patrick Sanders, the army chief of general staff.
For its part, the EU is imposing an asset freeze, visa ban and ban on receiving EU funding on nearly a hundred Iranian officials and entities.
“Tehran always prefers the way […] diplomacy, but as you can see […]our action is immediate, effective and reciprocal,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdolahian said in a phone call to his French counterpart Catherine Colonna, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Despite this tense context, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, announced on Tuesday that he intended to visit Iran in February for “essential” discussions aimed at bringing this country to resume cooperation on its nuclear activities.
Without confirming a date, Iranian authorities said Wednesday that such a move was under consideration.