EU ministers agree on new Iran sanctions

Before the EU foreign ministers' meeting got underway, Alexander Schallenberg (VP), the foreign minister, made it clear that he supported the new sanctions. In response to this, he stated on Monday in Brussels that "we need a clear edge now.".

Schallenberg expressed his disappointment, saying that he had "hoped that we would bring Iran back to the table of the international community via the Vienna nuclear agreement.". "Sanctions are almost always at the very end of the diplomatic alphabet, which indicates that all other options have failed.

The Foreign Minister emphasized that Iran is currently on a "collision course with us and its own people. In addition to "throwing all security mechanisms overboard" in regards to the nuclear program, the Iranian government is attempting to "crush civil society movements with the utmost brutality.".

In reference to both the drone deliveries to Russia and Iran, Schallenberg claimed that Iran is "apparently moving in the wrong direction almost at the speed of light.". "I think we can go further, and we will probably have to go further," he said in reference to the sanctions imposed by the European Union on Iran.

The brutal repression of nationwide protests was carried out by a number of individuals and organizations, according to prior reports, and they will be the target of the new Iran sanctions. However, for the time being, the European Parliament does not intend to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group.

Additionally, the prosecution of Russia for its war crimes in Ukraine was a topic the EU's foreign ministers wanted to discuss. Schallenberg asserts that it is a "very important point for the European Union" and that accountability must ultimately be established.

"I'm open to the idea of a special tribunal, but if it doesn't get established until 2025 or 2026, it won't be much use to us. It shouldn't "raise doubts" about already existing institutions like the International Criminal Court, either.

In reference to both the drone deliveries to Russia and Iran, Schallenberg claimed that Iran is "apparently moving in the wrong direction almost at the speed of light.