Iran imposes counter-sanctions after EU, UK designate IRGC officers

Iran announced the imposition of sanctions against 17 European and British individuals and entities on 24 April, shortly after the EU and the UK placed officers of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on their sanctions’ lists.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry denounced the sanctions as an "obvious violation of fundamental principles of international law set forth in the United Nations charter," in a statement published on its official website.

It said that the individuals and entities designated had "supported terrorism and terrorist groups, instigated and encouraged terrorist acts and violence against the Iranian people, interfered in the domestic affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, fomented violence and unrest in Iran, disseminated false information about Iran and participated in the escalation of cruel sanctions against Iranian people as economic terrorism".

Agencies of the Iranian government will block the accounts and transactions of these individuals and entities within the Iranian banking system, freeze their assets inside Iran, and subject them to an entry ban.

Those named in the Iranian sanctions list include executives of arms and drone manufacturing firms, think-tank staff, military officers, current and former parliamentarians, and other critics of Iran.

The UK sanctions in question were imposed on regional IRGC commanders, whom the UK government in its statement held responsible for repression against protesters in various parts of the country. Meanwhile, EU sanctions targeted the senior IRGC officer in the city of Qom, as well as senior managers at the IRGC Cooperative Foundation, a large investment fund affiliated to the Corps.