WorldECR | The United States, its allies, and the European Union reaffirm their commitment to sanctions against Iran

On the second anniversary of Mahsa Rina Amini’s death in Iranian police custody, Western allies and the European Union reiterated their condemnation of human rights violations by the Tehran government and announced plans to continue sanctions and diplomatic pressure.

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States issued a joint statement stressing their commitment to holding the Iranian government accountable for human rights violations.

The September 16 joint statement said: “We will continue to work together to hold the Iranian government accountable and will use all relevant national legal authorities to hold Iranian human rights violators accountable, including through sanctions and visa restrictions.” The statement emphasized that the international community is taking action against Iran and condemned the Iranian regime’s repression of women and girls, especially criticizing Iran’s renewed crackdown on the “Noor” headscarf.

Meanwhile, the European Union issued a statement expressing its position on the anniversary of Amini’s death.

The EU High Representative reiterated his support for the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement and condemned the Iranian authorities’ violent crackdown on the protests.

It also stressed the need for Iran to allow UN Human Rights Council mandate holders free access to Iran and cooperate with international investigations.

The statement demanded: “The EU calls on Iran to abide by the relevant international treaties and agreements to which it has acceded and to cooperate fully with the independent international fact-finding mission authorized by the Human Rights Council.” In addition, the statement also called for the immediate release of arbitrarily detained individuals, including EU citizens and citizens with dual EU-Iranian nationality.