"Interference in internal affairs", Iran imposes sanctions on Europe

2022-12-13 08:52:06Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

"Interference in internal affairs", Iran imposes sanctions on Europe

Iran imposed sanctions on Monday against the heads of Britain's intelligence agency and military, as well as British and German political figures, hitting back at Europe before it decided on new sanctions.

At his weekly press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani blamed the Europeans and the British for "interfering in the internal affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran" and said the sanctions "go into effect today."

Britain and Germany have been particularly vocal in their criticism of Iran's response to the nearly three-month-old protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. The Kurdish-Iranian woman died in custody after being arrested by the morality police, who accused her of violating Iran's dress code for women.

Iran imposed sanctions on 32 individuals and entities ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels. They were expected to impose additional sanctions on Iran over its response to the demonstrations.

The Iran sanctions list named Ken McCallum, director-general of the country's counterintelligence agency, MI5, and the chief of the defense staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin. Others sanctioned are current and former members of the British parliament and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

Several German political figures and companies are also listed. These include Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, former head of the Christian Democratic Union party, and Claudia Roth, federal government commissioner for culture and media. Also sanctioned are the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and the Persian-language division of Radio Free Europe, a sister network of VOA. Those sanctioned will not be allowed to enter Iran and their assets will be confiscated./VOA


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