The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kalas, has said she is ready to propose new sanctions against Iran.
She reminded the German daily Die Welt that "the European Union has already imposed comprehensive sanctions on Iran, against those responsible for human rights violations, for the development of the nuclear program, for Tehran's support for Russia in the war against Ukraine."
"I am also ready to propose additional sanctions in response to the brutal repression of protesters," said the head of European diplomacy.
Kallas, who is the former Prime Minister of Estonia, assessed that the largest demonstrations in many years are underway in Iran.
"Citizens are fighting for a future in which they will decide for themselves and are ready to risk everything to be heard. The regime has a long history of suppressing protests and we are seeing a brutal response from the security forces," said Kalas. She stressed that violence against peaceful protesters was "unacceptable."
European Parliament President Roberta Mezzola encouraged demonstrators in Iran to continue their protests, and asked European Union governments to put more pressure on Tehran.
"To the brave girls, students, men and women on the streets, I say: this is your time," Mezzola wrote on social media.
"Europe must recognize its duty," Mezzola wrote, without specifying specific ways to exert greater pressure on the Iranian authorities.
Regarding the Iranian authorities' decision to ban the internet, Mecola wrote: "Do you know that any regime that blocks communication is a regime that is afraid of its own people?"
She called on the state leadership in Tehran to change its political course. "The desire for freedom is common to all as people. The new generation in Iran demands dignity and freedom. In 2026, that is not too much of a demand," Mecola wrote.
"The killing must stop. The innocent and persecuted must be freed. The repression must end," Mezzola wrote.
According to activists, demonstrations in Iran have since spread to 186 cities. 483 protesters have been killed, the US-based human rights network HRANA reported.
A total of 544 people, including children and 47 members of the security forces, were killed. Around 10.700 people were arrested, the organization said. The figures could not be independently verified.
"Add the Revolutionary Guard to the list of terrorist organizations"
The chairwoman of the European Parliament's Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strak-Zimmermann, called on the EU today to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group "as soon as possible."
"The Iranian Revolutionary Guard should be added to the list of terrorist organizations as soon as possible. It is a serious oversight that this has not happened yet," Štrak-Zimmerman posted on the social network X.
The German Liberal MEP added that this is possible, "contrary to previous claims," and that "there is certainly enough evidence for it."
According to the European Council's website, the EU's terrorist list includes, among other organizations, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
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