TEHRAN -- Iran announced on Wednesday sanctions targeting individuals and media outlets in the European Union in retaliation for the bloc’s coercive measures over the country’s response to foreign-backed riots.
The European Union on October 17 imposed sanctions against the police and 11 officials including Iran’s telecommunications minister.
In response, Iran’s foreign ministry announced in a statement sanctions against eight institutions and 12 individuals based in the EU for “supporting terrorist groups”, “inciting violence” and “provoking riots, violence and terrorist acts” in the Islamic republic.
The Iranian blacklist includes the International Committee in Search of Justice, the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism, and the Persian versions of German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and Radio France Internationale.
European and French politicians, and two individuals at the German tabloid newspaper Bild are among the individuals sanctioned by the Iranian government.
They include president of the International Committee in Search of Justice Aljo Vidal Quadras, co-chairs of the Friends of Free Iran Javier Zarzalejos and Milan Azver, members of the European Parliament Charlier Weimers, Jan Zahradil, Helmot Geuking and Hermann Tertsch, member of the National Assembly of France Meyer Habib, mayor of France’s Villepinte Matine Valleton, mayor of Paris first district Jean-Francois Legaret, current and former editors-in-chief of Germany’s Bild newspaper Johannes Boieand and Alexandra Wurzbach.
The Iranian sanctions include a visa ban and the “seizure of their property and assets in the territory under Iran’s jurisdiction”, the ministry statement said.
On October 19, Iran announced it had blacklisted British entities and individuals, days after London imposed sanctions on Iran’s police.
The foreign minister of Iran on Wednesday called on the European governments to drop their failed approach to the Islamic Republic.
In a joint press conference with his Belarusian counterpart here, Hussein Amir-Abdollahian warned the Europeans not to continue with their unconstructive, hackneyed and failed approaches.
The minister renewed Iran’s rejection of Western officials’ claims that Iranian drones have