Council of EU passes new sanctions on Iran

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ISTANBUL (AA) - EU foreign ministers have passed a new sanctions package on Iran, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU said Monday.

At today’s Foreign Affairs Council, the top diplomats "adopted a new package of sanctions against Iran, targeting those driving the repression," the presidency said on Twitter.

"The EU strongly condemns the brutal and disproportionate use of force by the Iranian authorities against peaceful protesters," it added.

The new package of sanctions came amid discussion over whether Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) should be put on the EU’s official terrorist group list.

A decision to blacklist the guard corps would require a judicial decision in one of the member states, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a doorstep speech ahead of the foreign ministers’ meeting.

In a non-binding vote last week, the European Parliament condemned the corps for its crackdown on protesters amid months of unrest in Iran, as well as supplying Iranian drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.

MEPs overwhelmingly voted for a resolution that calls for “the EU and its member states to include the IRGC on the EU’s terrorist list."