In her speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Ursula von der Leyen quickly got to the point: A new chapter in the Russian war against Ukraine had begun, the Commission President said on Wednesday, and the complaints were about systematic war crimes. Whoever, like Russia, attacks civilian infrastructure with the aim of cutting off people from water, electricity and heating is committing “pure acts of terrorism”. What she didn’t say, but resonated in the speech: Whoever, like Iran, supplies weapons for such attacks is making its contribution to war crimes and acts of terrorism.
The EU is now preparing new sanctions against Iran, which are to be voted on by the diplomats of the 27 member countries this week. At least that was the plan on Wednesday. The reason for this are the Iranian-made drones that Russia is apparently using under Iranian guidance to attack the Ukrainian infrastructure. According to EU jargon, Iranian “individuals and entities” responsible for “undermining and endangering the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine” should be punished.
The German foreign minister pushed for further penalties at the beginning of the week
According to the proposal from the house of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, which is available to SZ, Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian army, would be at the top of the list of sanctions. According to the paper, he is responsible for Iran’s drone program and plays a crucial role in Iran’s military cooperation with Russia. As head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Bagheri was also responsible for international military projects. Also on the list are generals Sayed Hojatollah Qureishi – he apparently engineered the sale of drones to Russia – and Saeed Aghajani and the company Shahed Aviation Industries as developer and manufacturer of the drones.
At the top of the European sanctions list: the chief of staff of the Iranian army, Mohammad Hossein Bagheri.
(Photo: -/SANA/HO/AFP)
Only on Monday of this week did the foreign ministers introduce sanctions against Iran. They are intended as punishment for the crackdown on nationwide protests following the unexplained death of a young woman. Iran’s responsibility for the drone attacks on Ukraine was already discussed at the meeting in Luxembourg. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock explicitly called for new sanctions.
Josep Borrell seemed to be slowing down on Monday. He said you need proof first. On the one hand, his hesitation was due to the fact that the sanctions must be legally certain, because they can be appealed to the European Court of Justice. On the other hand, he may still have hoped to revive the international nuclear agreement with Iran from 2015. It was terminated by then-US President Donald Trump in 2018. Borrell tried until recently as a mediator between Iran and the United States. “The agreement would make the world a safer place,” Borrell said on Monday. It offers the Iranian government relief from the massive Western economic sanctions if it provides insight into its nuclear program. But this issue seems to have been resolved now.
Compared to the economic sanctions that have been hitting Iran’s oil exports and banking system for years, the individual sanctions now being imposed seem harmless. Travel bans and the freezing of accounts will hardly deter the generals and are primarily to be understood symbolically: as a sign that the EU is tightening its course on Iran.
The heads of state and government will also deal with Iran at their summit on Thursday and Friday this week. The draft of the final declaration states: One condemns the inhuman violence against people who protest peacefully. A passage about Iranian drones supporting Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine should now be added.