Eu, UK Iran sanctions
The UK and the EU have imposed new sanctions on Iran over the country’s response to the recent riots. The UK has added five more Iranian officials to its sanctions list while the EU has blacklisted 37 Iranian officials and entities. London and Brussels say their measures are in response to what they describe as Tehran’s repression of its own people. Iran has repeatedly dismissed the accusations, saying it’s the victim of a foreign-backed plot. The West has targeted various Iranian individuals and entities with sanctions in recent months, citing similar pretexts. Last week, the EU Parliament also approved a non-binding resolution, calling for the bloc to blacklist Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps as a terror group. Tehran has repeatedly condemned the move as irresponsible and illogical. It has warned the EU about unpredictable consequences of any uncalculated move against the IRGC.
Israeli demolition
Palestinians have staged a rally in the occupied West Bank against an Israeli plan to demolish the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar. Demonstrators held flags and chanted slogans against Israel’s settlement activities on the occupied territories. Palestinians say the regime is stealing their ancestral land with its demolition drive under different pretexts. The regime has recently intensified its settlement activities as part of its expansionist agenda. All Israeli settlements on the occupied Palestinian land are illegal under international law and the Geneva Conventions. The UN Security Council has repeatedly condemned the regime’s settlement activities.
Confiscated Russian assets
The European Council has called on EU leaders to speed up talks on use of confiscated Russian assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine. President Charles Michel says the profits from the frozen assets could be used for reconstruction efforts. Michel described the proposal as a question of justice. The EU has blocked 300 billion Euros of assets belonging to the Russian central bank back in November. The move is part of the sanctions the bloc imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine. Moscow has hit back with its own measures, including limitations to supply of energy to Europe.