EU member states decided during Monday’s meeting of foreign ministers to add another 29 people and three organizations or companies to their sanctions list due to the violence against the protesters in Iran.
– They will hit parts of the Revolutionary Guard that are behind this, says Tobias Billström on his way out of the meeting.
More in December
In there, he himself pushed to make Iran a regular item when ministers next meet, in mid-December.
– The situation is so serious when it comes to this excessive violence against demonstrators and violations and the crimes committed against human rights that we need this as a special item on the agenda. The EU must continue to focus on this, continue to ensure that the brave girls and women who are out on the streets and fighting for their rights notice that the EU gives them its support, says Billström.
No barter
Words of warning have been raised that an escalated sanctions battle risks also affecting the agreement to keep Iran away from nuclear weapons, which the EU would like to renew. However, the two topics need to be kept separate, the foreign minister believes.
– As several colleagues, not least my German foreign minister colleague, have pointed out on Twitter today, it is not the case that human rights issues are a bargaining chip or a trading card. These questions can be discussed in parallel, but they cannot be exchanged for each other. The EU must stand up when human rights are violated in the way that is happening in Iran, says Tobias Billström in Brussels.