Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry “strongly condemned” the sanctions against several Iranian individuals and entities, stating that they were “baseless and unfounded pretexts,” labeling the move as “unjustified and against international law, especially human rights.”
The UK on Monday announced sanctions on “senior Iranian military figures and organisations for their role in attempting to destabilise the Middle East.”
Among the Sanctioned individuals are Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander in chief of Iran’s army and a member of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Mohammad Kazemi, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence chief.
Baghaei labeled the decisions as “deceitful” and an attempt to “divert the public attention” from Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip which he labeled as the “most pressing issue of the day.”
The sanction comes amid increasing tension in the Middle East as Iran and Israel are trading blows across the region.
Earlier this month, Iran launched around 180 ballistic missiles toward Israel. IRGC said the attack was in response to the killing of Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan.
Israel has vowed to respond to the attack.
Also on Monday, the European Council sanctioned seven Iranian individuals and seven entities for “missile and drone transfers to Russia.”
“This decision follows the indication by the European Council in March 2024 that were Iran to transfer ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia for use against Ukraine, the EU would be prepared to respond swiftly, including with new and significant restrictive measures,” read a statement from the council.
Alexander Schallenberg, Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria, said that “the Iranian regime takes the wrong side and goes in the wrong direction but I believe that we can always leave some dialogue channels open.”
“The Iranian regime's support to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is unacceptable and must stop,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X, welcoming the decision.
The Iranian spokesperson said that the EU’s actions were “contradictory and inconsistent with European countries' claims regarding human rights and engagement,” adding that sanctions on passenger airlines were a “clear violation of international law”.
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