EU to impose sanctions on 15 Iranians over crackdown on protesters

EU to impose sanctions on 15 Iranians over crackdown on protesters
October 17, 2022, 8:38 am

European Union flags flutter outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium August 21, 2020. (File photo: Reuters)

The EU foreign ministers, who meet in Luxembourg on Monday (Oct 17), are expected to impose travel bans and asset freezes on some 15 Iranians involved in the crackdown on demonstrators in Iran, who took to the streets after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

EU foreign ministers will also discuss the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia, opening the way for potential further sanctions that could be agreed at a later date.

With regard to China, ministers will look into a “fine tuning” of the relations, officials said, noting that Beijing is a crucial trade partner for the EU and Europe depends on Chinese products and raw materials.

Diplomats say Brussels is concerned that Chinese President Xi Jinping is setting China on an increasingly authoritarian path, and uneasy about Xi’s support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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One EU official said: “The objective is not to change radically this (EU) policy but, obviously, things have happened and ministers will be talking about that." He added that there may be a need to change policy in the future.

He said the bloc’s leaders would discuss China policy at a summit on Thursday and Friday, and the EU would also monitor closely the Communist Party Congress that opened on Sunday.

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