The EU should punish Iranians who help Russia, Sweden says
BRUSSELS, Nov 14 (Reuters) – The European Union should punish any Iranians it finds have provided drones or missiles to Russia for use in its war on Ukraine, in addition to sanctions imposed for Tehran’s crackdown on protesters, Sweden said on Monday .
“I think that if we can find the culprits, there should definitely be sanctions,” Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström told Reuters in an interview.
“Those who help Russia in its aggression against Ukraine may have to be punished in one way or another. And sanctions are the only way I can see it to punish people who are responsible for this,” he said after a meeting with his EU counterparts .
EU states have already agreed to freeze the assets of three individuals and an entity responsible for drone deliveries.
The ministers slapped new sanctions on Iranian individuals and organizations on Monday for what the bloc says has been widespread use of violence against peaceful protesters.
Iran has been gripped by protests since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police two months ago. Tehran has blamed its foreign enemies and their agents for the unrest.
Billström said the additional EU sanctions were justified because the situation had worsened and “the amount of violence directed at people on the streets is terrifying”.
French President Emmanuel Macron earlier said the crackdown by Iran’s leaders would make it more difficult to reach an agreement to revive a 2015 deal that would have given Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
Billstrom said he believed there was still room for maneuver over the nuclear deal but said there could be no trade-off between human rights and striking a deal with Tehran.
Reporting by John Chalmers Editing by Gareth Jones
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.