The European Council announced that it has imposed sanctions on “seven individuals and two entities responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran.”

The foreign ministers of European Union (EU) countries gathered in Luxembourg for their regular meetings. As the EU expanded sanctions against Iran, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot urged citizens not to travel to Iran. EU COUNCIL STATEMENT ON SANCTIONS Discussion on relations with Iran during their regular meetings, ministers decided to take new measures within the existing sanction regime towards Tehran. In a written statement from the EU Council on the matter, it was stated that “the Council has decided to introduce restrictive measures against seven individuals and two entities responsible for serious human rights violations, including the arbitrary use of the judiciary for arrests in Iran.”

The statement expressed, “The EU continues to deeply concern over Iran’s arbitrary detention of EU citizens for political gain on unfounded grounds.” WHO WILL BE SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS? In this context, the “Shiraz Central Prison, the First Branch of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court, Director of Evin Prison Farzadi Hedayatollah, Director of Fars Prison Protection and Intelligence Department Mehdi Nemati, as well as five judiciary officials” in the Fars province are included in the sanctions. The EU’s sanction regime includes travel bans, freezing assets of individuals or entities, and prohibiting funds transfers to them. The EU is imposing sanctions on a total of 232 individuals and 44 entities in Iran. FRANCE: WE WILL FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST IRAN TO ICJ Furthermore, French Foreign Minister Barrot stated on his social media account that his country will file a complaint to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Iranian authorities for refusing permission for two French citizens to visit the consulate. The French Minister included statements urging French citizens not to travel to Iran and for those currently in Iran to depart as soon as possible.