PARIS (Reuters) – The European Union is ready to agree to impose new sanctions on Iran over human rights abuses in cracking down on protests and supplying drones to Russia, a French foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday. .
Anne Claire Legendre told reporters that EU foreign ministers would discuss identifying individuals and entities involved in the security crackdown that targeted protesters, as well as entities exporting drones to Russia.
Iran has said it exported a small number of drones to Russia prior to its invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has denied that its forces have used Iranian drones in their attacks on Ukraine.
The European Union has imposed two sanctions on Iran since October, with an asset freeze and a travel ban.
Protests have erupted in Iran following the September 16 killing of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the moral police, one of the toughest challenges facing the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
The news agency for human rights activists (Hrana) reported that so far 341 protesters have died during the protests and more than 15,000 have been arrested.
Western powers also said Iran continues to supply drones to Russia, expressing belief that Tehran will soon supply ballistic missiles to Moscow.
Two diplomatic sources said the new sanctions were expected to be approved and approved on Monday. A source said 21 people and one entity will be subject to sanctions for human rights violations, while 10 are proposed for drones.
The diplomat noted that some countries have also expressed concern about the possible transfer of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia.
