Iran Sanctions EU Institutions, Individuals in Reciprocal Action

Iran announced reciprocal sanctions on institutions and individuals in the European Union due to their measures in support of terrorism and terrorist groups.
In a statement on Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry once again denounced the EU’s October 17 sanctions targeting Iranian individuals and entities over baseless accusations that constitute a clear example of interference in Iran’s internal affairs.
In response, the ministry said it announces sanctions against a number of individuals and entities within the EU due to their “deliberate actions in support of terrorism and terrorist groups, encouraging and inciting terrorism, violence and hatred, which has caused riots, violence, terrorist acts and human rights violations against the people of Iran,” IRNA reported.
The sanctioned entities include the so-called Friends of Free Iran, the International Committee in Search of Justice (ISJ), Stop the Bomb, Deutsche Welle Persian, RFI Persian, International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, Karl Kolb Co., and Rhein Bayern Fahrzeugbau Co.
The blacklisted individuals are 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 blacklisted individuals are banned from receiving a visa or entering Iran, and any ownership of their properties and assets in Iran will be transferred to the Iranian government.

Tit for Tat 

Earlier, Iran had imposed retaliatory sanctions against a number of British individuals and entities for supporting terrorism, inciting violence and violating human rights.
In a statement last week, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced that the bans on the British individuals and entities were a “tit for tat” move against the sanctions that had been placed by some European countries on Iran.
The statement named three entities and nine individuals that had been blacklisted under the Islamic Republic’s sanctions regime. The entities included the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) as well as Volant Media, Global Media, and DMA Media and TV channels that they support namely, BBC Persian and Iran International.
The ministry underlined that the measures by the listed entities led to “riots, violence and terrorist acts” against the Iranian nation.
The EU foreign ministers had decided a week earlier to levy sanctions against 11 Iranian individuals and four entities over the country’s response to protests that followed the death of a young Iranian woman in police custody.
Mahsa Amini’s death initially triggered peaceful protests, but turned violent leading to deadly clashes between rioters and security forces.
In yet another hostile act against Tehran on Thursday, the EU unveiled a new set of sanctions targeting Iran over allegations that it has been supplying drones to Russia to hit Ukraine. Both Iran and Russia have denied the allegations.