London, Friday, 7 July 2023
Britain on Thursday announced new sanctions against Iran and a new regime that gives more powers to target Iranians who make decisions about their “hostile actions” in the UK or abroad.
An unprecedented protest movement, which was suppressed, broke out in Iran after the death of 22-year-old Iranian Mahsa Amini in September 2022 after her police arrest. She was accused of violating the strict dress code that requires women to wear headscarves in the Islamic Republic.
“Since then, the Iranian regime has dramatically increased its attempts to silence the contestation movement, which has never been confined to Iranian territory,” British diplomacy chief James Cleverley said.
Tehran's reaction was not long. The British charred in Tehran was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry on the same day to protest “catastrophic actions” following London’s announcement of new sanctions against the Islamic Republic, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley announced a new sanctions regime that would give London more power to target Iranians making decisions about their “hostile activities” in the UK and around the world.
“In response to the UK’s destructive and intrusive actions and statements, Isabel Marsh, the British embassy’s charred in Tehran, was summoned to the foreign ministry,” IRNA said.
The ministry "considered the statements and positions of the British authorities as well as the recent sanctions (...) as an illegal and intrusive act," the news agency added.
Britain’s new sanctions regime introduces new criteria under which individuals and entities can be targeted, notably “regime activities that undermine peace, stability and security in the Middle East and globally”, “the use and proliferation of Iranian weapons and weapons technologies.
These sanctions add to what London has already received for the crackdown by Iranian security forces on the protests that followed the death in September 2022 of Mahsa Amini. The United States and the European Union have also stepped up their sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
(Written by: The Decision Maker – International Relations editors)