The country is struggling economic problems from high inflation and unemployment rates as well as Us and EU sanctions over nuclear deal with world powers. AP
The country is struggling economic problems from high inflation and unemployment rates as well as Us and EU sanctions over nuclear deal with world powers. AP
The country is struggling economic problems from high inflation and unemployment rates as well as Us and EU sanctions over nuclear deal with world powers. AP
The country is struggling economic problems from high inflation and unemployment rates as well as Us and EU sanctions over nuclear deal with world powers. AP

Iran retaliates against EU and UK with sanctions


  • English
  • Arabic

Iran has imposed sanctions on 34 British and European people and entities in response to similar measures taken over Tehran's crackdown on months-long protests.

The sanctions include punitive financial measures, including blocking accounts and transactions in Iran's banking systems, as well as the “prohibition of visa issuance and entry” to the country, the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The measures come two days after the EU and Britain placed yet another round of sanctions on Iran, which has been rocked by protests since the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini.

Ms Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died in police custody after being arrested over wearing her hijab “inappropriately”.

Tehran accuses the sanctioned people and entities of “supporting terrorism and terrorist groups, instigating and encouragement to terrorist acts, and violence against Iranian people”.

It also accuses them of “interference in the domestic affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and fomenting violence and unrest”.

The sanctions list 25 people and entities from the EU and nine from the UK.

France's Radio J, European Friends of Israel and 22 people, including six members of the European Parliament, are among those affected.

The list also includes Swedish-Danish right-wing politician Rasmus Paludan, who burnt a copy of the Quran in Sweden on Saturday, sparking protests across the Muslim world.

Iran also placed sanctions on the British think tank The Henry Jackson Society (HJS), for its support for domestic protesters, as well as efforts to stop Iranian nuclear proliferation and global terrorism.

“The Henry Jackson Society wears Iran’s decision to sanction us with pride, as it reflects this regime’s desperation to try and stop those — at home and abroad — who are fighting for a free, democratic and peaceful Iran,” said Executive Director Dr Alan Mendoza.

“We hope the UK government takes note of Tehran’s attempt to silence pro-democracy voices and moves quickly to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, whose nefarious activities should be deemed illegal here immediately,” he added.

Iran had warned of reciprocal action on Tuesday, after the EU imposed its fourth round of sanctions against the country since the protests started, freezing the assets of 37 more officials and barring them from obtaining visas.

Britain on the same day sanctioned five more Iranian officials, broadening its blacklist to 50 people and organisations it considers to be involved in the crackdown.

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

If you go

The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.

The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.

Updated: January 25, 2023, 6:17 PM