The EU parliamentarian Abir Al-Sahlani (C) has, together with several leading politicians and cultural figures, ended up on Iran’s sanctions list.
– I know very well what kind of regime I am dealing with, she tells TT.
On Monday, the EU countries expanded their sanctions list against Iran by a further 18 people and 19 organizations and companies, prompting Iran to quickly counter with sanctions of its own.
A total of 34 people – 25 from the EU and nine from the UK – are accused by Iran of “supporting terrorism and terrorist groups, inciting terrorist acts and violence against the Iranian people” and “interfering in Iran’s internal affairs”.
On the list are, among others, the Swedish member of the EU parliament Abir Al-Sahlani (C), the author Bernard-Henri Lévy, the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and the far-right activist Rasmus Paludan. The sanctions consist of visa bans to Iran and freezing of transactions and any assets in the country.
– At first I didn’t really understand what it was about, I have no connection to Iran in any way, but the more I started reading, the more I laughed. Who in my position would bring themselves to go to Iran now?
Showed his support
Al-Sahlani, who was born in Iraq, has no direct connection to Iran. On the other hand, she showed her support for the Iranian women’s rebellion against the regime by cutting off her hair during a meeting in October in the rostrum of the European Parliament.
– Several relatives in Iraq reached out to me and said that I should take it easy now that I am on the sanctions list, that means that what I do here is noticed. They are worried about my safety, but also their own, because everyone knows how involved Iran is in Iraq, she says.
In the clip above: Abir Al-Sahlani (C) cuts his hair in the European Parliament