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Foreign Minister Baerbock in Lower Saxony: "We're watching, we're by your side"
Photo: IMAGO/Fotostand / Matthey / IMAGO/Fotostand
Together with the governments of France, Denmark, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic, the German government has submitted proposals for new EU sanctions against Iran.
SPIEGEL learned this from diplomatic circles.
According to this, a total of 16 people, organizations and institutions are to be fined for the brutal suppression of the women's protests in Iran.
Those listed are primarily representatives of the Iranian repressive apparatus, but political representatives are also among them, SPIEGEL said.
The aim of the initiators is for the EU foreign ministers to decide on the new sanctions at their meeting on October 17th.
Resistance from the EU member states is not expected.
The penalties are to be decided within the framework of the EU's Iran human rights sanctions regime.
This instrument was last used in 2019 – after the violent suppression of the protests at the time.
The US government had imposed sanctions on high-ranking representatives of the Iranian vice squad about two weeks ago.
At a current hour of the Bundestag on the protests in Iran last Thursday, the opposition accused Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of doing too little for women in Iran.
Baerbock rejected the criticism: "In the circle of EU states, I'm doing everything to ensure that we can introduce sanctions," she said.
At an election campaign event in Hanover on Sunday, the Greens politician confirmed that she wanted to stand up for Iranian women.
"We're watching, we're on your side," Baerbock called out to a group of women holding signs with the slogans of the Iranian protest movement.
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