Iran responded Wednesday, January 25 tit for tat to the latest sanctions from the European Union and the United Kingdom by taking reciprocal measures, more than four months after the start of the protest movement caused by the death of Mahsa Amini .
Tehran has added 25 individuals and entities from the European Union, including ten French, including the mayor of Paris, and nine from the United Kingdom in retaliation for the sanctions imposed by the latter on Monday.
The Iranian authorities accuse these personalities of "supporting terrorism and terrorist groups", "encouraging violence against the Iranian people" or "disseminating false information about Iran", explained the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. .
Iran warned on Tuesday that it would retaliate against the EU's decision the day before to add 37 Iranian individuals or entities to its sanctions list for human rights violations.
In a coordinated move, the UK had sanctioned five individuals and two entities, while the US placed ten individuals and one entity on its list, its 9th addition since the protests began.
Tehran did not announce any new sanctions against the United States on Wednesday.
Iranian-European relations have steadily worsened in recent weeks amid continued protest in Iran, accusations of supplying drones to Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine, which Tehran denies .
They have been exacerbated by the files of Westerners detained in Iran, the execution of the Iranian-British Alireza Akbari on January 14, and the non-binding vote of the European Parliament in favor of the placement of the Revolutionary Guards - ideological army of the Islamic Republic - on the list of terrorist organizations.
Anne Hidalgo, Charlie Hebdo, Bernard-Henri Levy...
The French are the most numerous on the new Iranian list with nine individuals and one entity, while five Germans, two Dutch, an Italian and a Spaniard are concerned.
Among them is Anne Hidalgo, the socialist mayor of Paris, who cut a lock of hair in October "in support of Iranian women".
The philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, declared defender of human rights, and Gilbert Mitterrand, son of former President François Mitterrand and president of the Danielle Mitterrand-France Libertés Foundation, are also targeted.
Tehran is also targeting three Charlie Hebdo officials, including editor-in-chief Gérard Biard.
The satirical magazine had already been placed, as an entity, in the previous sanctions list, but it has since angered the Iranian authorities by publishing caricatures of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Radio J, based in France, and the association European Friends of Israel (EFI), active in the European Parliament, are among the three entities targeted.
The list also includes MEPs as well as Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan, who burned a copy of the Koran in Sweden on Saturday, sparking strong protests in several capitals of the Muslim world.
Among the nine Britons are Liam Fox, former defense minister, Tory MP Victoria Prentis and Patrick Sanders, the army chief of general staff.
Iranian sanctions against them include financial measures and a ban on issuing visas to enter the country, according to the Foreign Ministry.
For its part, the EU is imposing an asset freeze, visa ban and ban on receiving EU funding on nearly a hundred Iranian officials and entities.
Despite this tense context, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, announced on Tuesday that he intended to visit Iran in February for "indispensable" discussions aimed at bringing this country to resume cooperation on its nuclear activities.
Without confirming a date, Iranian authorities said Wednesday that such a move was under consideration.
With AFP
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