Iran banned several persons and media sites in the European Union on Wednesday (October 25)), as a measure of retribution for the EU's actions taken against Iranian law enforcement in response to a crackdown on Mahsa Amini demonstrations.
The action comes after the European Union (EU) announced new human rights sanctions against Iran's morality police and 11 other officials, including Iran's minister of telecommunications, last week, accusing them of participating in the repression of protesters in Iran.
Other individuals and organizations that were hit with sanctions include Iran's Minister of Information, a Cyber Division of the Revolutionary Guards, and a Uniformed Division of the National Police.
Since Amini's murder on September 16—three days after she was imprisoned by the morality police for allegedly breaching the Islamic republic's stringent dress code for women—violence in the streets has wracked the nation.
During the disturbance, dozens of people have been murdered; the vast majority of them were demonstrators, but they also included members of the security forces. Hundreds more, including women, have been detained.
Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Wednesday in which it announced sanctions against eight institutions and 12 individuals based in the European Union for "supporting terrorist groups," "inciting violence," and "provoking riots, violence, and terrorist acts" in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Iranian actions represent the very first time that Tehran has sanctioned EU officials and organizations in an official capacity.
"If Europe believes that by imposing sanctions against Iran it can obtain advantages in the talks, this indicates that it does not know Iran," said Abolfazl Amouei, the spokesman for the National Security Committee of the Iranian Assembly, as quoted by Irna, the state news agency of Iran.
Amouei was speaking about the European Union's belief that it could obtain advantages in the talks by imposing sanctions against Iran.
Amouei described the actions as a "proportional" reaction to what he referred to as "hostile gestures" from the EU.
The Friends of Free Iran and the International Committee in Search of Justice, two informal organizations housed inside the European Parliament, are among the institutions that have been singled out for attack.
The Iranian blacklist does not target high-level EU officials, although it contains the names of European and French politicians, such as European MPs or former parliamentarians, whose political affiliations range from largely center-right to far-right.
It includes seven organizations and entities based in France and Germany, including the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism, two individuals at the German tabloid newspaper Bild, as well as the Persian versions of German broadcasters Deutsche Welle and Radio France Internationale for what Tehran perceives to be the promotion of "terrorism" on Iranian soil.
In addition, the businesses Karl Kolb and Rhein Bayern Fahrzeugbau were put on the naughty list for "delivering poisonous gases and weapons" to Saddam Hussein, the former leader of Iraq, who is believed to have used these weapons against the Islamic Republic in the 1980s.
According to the statement released by the ministry, the Iranian restrictions include a prohibition on issuing visas as well as the "seizure of their property and assets in the region under Iran's authority."
Earlier this week, Tehran indicated that it would be taking action against several individuals and businesses based in the United Kingdom.
Separately, EU member states reached an agreement last week to impose penalties against three people and one business for providing Iranian drones that have been used by Russia to attack Ukraine over the last several weeks. These drones were used to drop bombs in Ukraine.
