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Valiasr Square in the capital Tehran
Photo: STR/AFP
After the recent executions in Iran, the European Union wants to further tighten its sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
According to diplomats on Friday, 37 other Iranian leaders and organizations are to be added to the sanctions list.
A decision is expected on Monday at the meeting of EU foreign ministers.
The inclusion of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on the EU terror list, which was recently demanded by the European Parliament, encounters legal hurdles.
According to unanimous information, the foreign ministers could approve the fourth package of sanctions against Iran because of the violence against demonstrators on Monday.
A spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office said in Berlin that it was important "to keep up the pressure on the Iranian regime, also in view of the execution of further death sentences".
Iran has been protesting against the leadership in Tehran for months.
Four people have been executed in connection with the unrest so far, according to the UN there have been at least 14,000 arrests.
The EU has therefore so far imposed entry and asset bans on more than 60 responsible persons and organizations.
Among them are members of the Revolutionary Guards, which are considered the elite unit of the Iranian army.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and the European Parliament want to add the Revolutionary Guards to the EU's terror list.
For legal reasons, however, this has not yet been possible, as an EU official emphasizes: In order for the EU to be able to classify an organization or an individual as "terrorist", there must be a court judgment from a member state.
"It must be established beyond a doubt that it is a terrorist organization," said the official.
So far, that has not been the case with the Revolutionary Guards.
The protests in Iran were triggered by the death of the young Kurd Mahsa Amini in mid-September.
Amini was arrested by the moral police because she is said to have worn her headscarf improperly.
Activists accuse the authorities of mistreating Amini.
dop/AFP
