Sanctions: Relations Between the West and Iran Continue To Intensify

By Leo Gerza, Staff Writer

Since the end of January, the issue of the Iranian regime has slowly been consuming more dialogue within the European Union bloc. On the one hand, the discussion on how and to what extent the union needs to act against the regime is driven by the latter’s continued brutality against its civilian population. On the other hand, concerns over Iran stem much closer to home on the Ukrainian battlefront, where Iran has been exporting drones to assist Russia in its illegal invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory.

The discussion on how to address these actions has developed into a practical debate on how to most effectively sanction Iran to limit and deter exports. It has once again underscored differences in how far European Union leaders are willing to go to assist widespread retaliation against authoritarian repression. Simultaneously, sharpened rhetoric directed against Iran within these debates has contributed to escalating tensions between both sides.

On Jan. 19, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for the union to recognize Iran’s elite forces and its subsidiaries as “terrorist organizations,” mainly in response to the regime’s lethal repression of civilian protesters. The resolution, however, is not binding, and the European Union’s chief of foreign policy, Josep Borrell, made clear that “you cannot say I consider you a terrorist because I don’t like you.” Therefore, the proposed designation will not be introduced until it has gone through the correct legal process. In retaliation, Iran claimed that it would vote on whether to designate European armed forces as terrorist organizations in a tit-for-tat move. Iran also threatened that negotiations to restore its 2015 nuclear deal would be entirely off the table. While both of these largely symbolic moves are unlikely to materialize, it demonstrates renewed tension in the verbal dialogue ion, and their assets can be frozen. On the same day, the U.S. Treasury announced it would join by targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a large group of its senior members and Iran’s Deputy Minister of Intelligence and Security Naser Rashedi. “Along with our partners, we will continue to hold the Iranian regime accountable so long as it relies upon violence, sham trials, and the execution of protestors,” said the Treasury Department.

In a rare moment of synchronization, the U.K. acted in step with the union and the United States, also acting to sanction Iranian individuals between both sides which will likely be reflected in more aggressive policy toward each other soon.

In retaliation to the series of coordinated sanctions from the West, Iran blacklisted 34 individuals and organizations in the European Union and the United Kingdom. The list of blacklisted individuals covers members of the European parliament, military commanders, city officials, and three executives at the French Magazine Charlie Hebdo, who had been accused of publishing a series of satirical caricatures depicting the elite of the Iranian regime. In the U.K., individuals blacklisted included legal officials such as the Prosecutor General and several intelligence officers.

However, the European Union and the United States acted decisively to implement new sanctions on Iran. The union voted to add 37 Iranian officials and organizations to the sanctions list. Those targeted by sanctions cannot travel to the European Un- and organizations. Notably, the list of sanctioned individuals included Deputy Prosecutor General Ahmad Fazelian because he weaponized the judicial system for political purposes. The British foreign minister, James Cleverly, said, “judicial figures using the death penalty for political ends… are at the heart of the regime’s brutal repression of the Iranian people.”

Amidst the 44th anniversary of the regime, President Ebrahim Raisi targeted the West in an invigorated speech where he was met with chants of “death to America” and “death to Israel.” This continued aggressive rhetoric comes at the same time that relations between Iran and Russia are coming ever closer together. On Feb. 8, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) claimed that it connected Iran and Russia’s financial messaging services to facilitate an expansion in bilateral economic relations. This will undoubtedly further solidify the alliance between both countries and will need to be met by continued cooperation on foreign policy between member countries within the union and between Europe, the United States and the United Kingdom.