BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – The EU is set to impose more sanctions on Iran for drone supplies to Russia and a crackdown on protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, European diplomats said Friday.
The new measures will target around eight individuals and organizations involved in the manufacture and delivery of drones Moscow has used in the war on Ukraine, diplomats said.
Another 20 individuals and one organization will be added to the asset freeze and visa ban blacklist over the repression of demonstrations that have rocked the regime, officials said.
The sanctions are expected to be formally signed off by foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday.
The EU has already imposed sanctions on eight officials and organizations, including the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and two drone makers, over the arms supplies to Russia.
Tehran’s “morality” police, interior minister and state broadcaster Press TV are among more than 40 names already on a blacklist over the bloody crackdown on protesters.
The Kremlin’s forces have used Iranian drones as a key weapon to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
The EU is looking under a separate sanctions package to stop the supply of drone engines from the bloc to Russia and Iran in a bid to curb Moscow’s war machine.
The fresh sanctions over Mahsa Amini demonstrations comes after Tehran sparked international condemnation by carrying out its first known execution over the protests.
Brussels has faced a tricky balancing act over its response to Tehran as the EU is mediating a push to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
But those efforts to get Iran and the United States back onboard with the agreement have largely stalled.
