Iran slams EU, UK’s new sanctions as clear example of 'systematic human rights violations'
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman says the fresh sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United Kingdom on Iran’s shipping lines constitute a clear example of systematic human rights violations.
Esmaeil Baghaei made the comment on Tuesday, just a day after the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), its director Mohammad Reza Khiabani, and several other entities and individuals.
Furthermore, Britain also said on Monday that Iran’s national airline, Iran Air, and IRISL would face an asset freeze.
The EU and the UK’s new sanctions are based on claims that Iran Air and IRISL are purportedly being used by the Islamic Republic to supply drones, ballistic missiles and related technologies and components to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine, a claim that Tehran has time and again strongly rejected.
“While Ukraine's president [Volodymyr Zelensky] himself has admitted that no Iranian ballistic missiles have been supplied to Russia, the EU and UK’s decision to impose sanctions on Iran under this pretext is entirely unjustifiable and lacks legitimacy, legal basis, or logical foundation,” Baghaei stressed, once again rejecting such allegations.
The sanctions come more than a month after the European bloc imposed sanctions on Iran Air over the same claims.
Baghaei stressed that the EU and UK's sanctions against Iran, particularly those imposed on the Iranian airlines and the recent sanctions against IRISL, which affect the fundamental rights and interests of Iranians, constitute “clear examples of systematic human rights violations and entail international responsibility for the perpetrators and architects of these sanctions.”
“Freedom of navigation and maritime trade is a fundamental principle of international maritime law,” which clearly makes the European parties internationally responsible for violating the international law, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman stressed.
Experts say the EU and the UK’s imposition of sanctions on Iran under the pretexts of its involvement in the war in Ukraine is in line with the US government’s policy to pressure Tehran into new concessions amid reports that there could be a new round of negotiations to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
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