Because of the ongoing violence against demonstrators, the foreign ministers want to decide on entry bans against 31 people and organizations. Iranian-Austrian doctors are demonstrating in Vienna on Thursday.
Because of the violent action taken by the Iranian authorities against demonstrators, the EU states want to impose sanctions on Monday against 31 other responsible persons and organizations. The foreign ministers of the member countries want to approve entry bans and freeze the assets of those responsible in Iran, according to several sources in Brussels on Thursday. Those affected include commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and high-ranking police officers.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) announced the new sanctions package on Wednesday. “We stand with the men and women of Iran, not just today, but for as long as is necessary,” she said on Twitter. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian reacted sharply to Germany’s criticism of Tehran’s actions on Thursday. “Provocative, interventionist and undiplomatic attitudes do not show sophistication and wisdom,” Amirabdollahian also wrote on Twitter. “Germany can decide to engage in order to tackle common challenges – or to confront,” the chief diplomat continued. “Our response will be appropriate and decisive,” he threatened. Damaging historical relationships will have long-term consequences.
Iran in distress over alleged arms shipments
There have been nationwide protests in Iran for weeks, triggered by the death of a young woman after she was arrested by the so-called vice police in Tehran. The woman allegedly had not worn her Islamic headscarf strictly enough. Because of the brutal crackdown on demonstrators, the EU had already put several responsible persons and organizations on its sanctions list on October 17, including the moral police and the cyber unit of the Revolutionary Guards. On October 20, similar EU sanctions came into force against an Iranian drone manufacturer and three military officials. The background is the delivery of military drones to Russia, which Tehran has now admitted.
Iran, on the other hand, has so far denied reports of missile deliveries to Russia. If this is confirmed, the EU should also hold those responsible accountable in this area. There are also efforts to put the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on the EU’s terror list. According to reports, there is no consensus among the member states on this.
Executed wrestler’s sister arrested
Meanwhile, the sister of wrestler Navid Afkari, who was executed in 2020, has reportedly been arrested by Iran’s secret police. Elham Afkari is accused of espionage and supporting terrorism, the Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday. Tasnim gave the reason that Afkari is said to have worked with the London-based broadcaster “Iran International”. Navid Afkari was executed in the city of Shiraz in 2020 despite international protests. He was charged with killing a security officer during demonstrations in 2018. Family and human rights organizations had contested a confession, saying it had been extracted through torture.
Tehran has repeatedly blamed foreign powers for the system-critical demonstrations in the country that have been going on for several weeks and regards the broadcaster “Iran International” as a terrorist organization. However, the broadcaster denied a cooperation with Elham Afkari on Twitter.
A travel blogger from Italy who was arrested in Iran has been released after “intensive diplomatic work”, according to information from Rome. Roman woman Alessia Piperno was arrested in Tehran on September 28 and then taken to the notorious Evin prison. Piperno, who has been in Iran since July, is said to have criticized the regime on social media. The woman’s relatives asserted that Piperno had not participated in the demonstrations.
Demonstration in Vienna
In Austria, the Austrian-Iranian Medical Society (ÖIÄG) and the “Medical Professionals for Human Rights in Iran-Austria” (IRANMED) are holding a solidarity rally in front of the Foreign Ministry in Vienna on Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. “In Iran, there are doctors and medical staff under a lot of pressure because they want and need to provide medical care to the injured demonstrators. Caring for the injured is considered a criminal offence. Even pharmacies are not allowed to sell medicines and bandages to the injured,” says a statement on the ÖIÄG website. The organization calls for the release of medical staff and other political prisoners and an “immediate end to any repression of medical staff who work in in accordance with his Hippocratic Oath”.
On Saturday, passers-by on Stephansplatz can donate strands of hair as a sign of solidarity during the “A strand for Iran” campaign. A group of activists, including the Teheran-born cabaret artist Aida Loos, intends to deposit this in front of Parliament next week to protest against the visit of an Iranian delegation that is coming to Vienna for nuclear negotiations. “If negotiations are going to take place with this brutal regime, then the release of the political prisoners must be a condition,” exiled Iranians and Austrian celebrities demanded, according to a broadcast.
(APA/dpa/AFP)