LONDON – The European External Action Service Spokesman Peter Stano has claimed that EU sanctions imposed on Iran on the pretext of human rights abuses were legal and justified, insisting, however, that reciprocal sanctions implemented by Iran against the EU were based on political grounds.
“… these Iranian measures are purely politically motivated,” Stano said, adding that EU sanctions on Iran had been “adopted on clear legal grounds.”
On January 25, the Iranian foreign ministry added dozens of individuals and entities from the EU and Britain to its blacklist over their role in the unrest and street riots that followed the death in custody of a woman in Iranian police custody in September.
Sanctions imposed by Tehran on certain EU officials include the blocking of accounts and transactions in Iran’s banks and the prohibition of visa issuance and entry to Iran.
Iran has also slammed EU officials for interference in the domestic affairs of Iran and fomenting violence and unrest and dissemination of false information about the country.