Al-Monitor – Iran is warning the European Union over the supranational body’s threat of new sanctions.
The US news outlet Politico reported Thursday that the Iranian government sent a letter to some European diplomats warning them to abandon the sanctions threat.
Iran said Europe must consider the “nuances” of the situation. If not, “the ramification will be grave and the bilateral relations may not survive it,” the letter read, as reported by Politico.
Why it matters: The news follows some European diplomats threatening to impose sanctions on Iran in response to the Islamic Republic’s violent crackdown against the ongoing protests. Last week, some members of the European Parliament called for such sanctions, referring to the “widespread, intentional and disproportionate” use of force against protesters, euronews reported.
On Sunday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on the EU to freeze the assets of Iranian officials responsible for the violent response to the protests.
The tensions relate to the ongoing demonstrations and riots throughout Iran, which began in Iran’s Kurdish region in response to religious police allegedly beating a woman to death over her hijab. So far, the Iranian government has responded forcefully and blamed the unrest on “foreign” forces — a reference to the United States and Israel.
Know more: The Iran-Europe spat comes at an interesting time in their relations. The United Kingdom, France and Germany remained party to the Iran nuclear deal that the United States left in 2018, and have been working to revive the agreement and bring the United States back on board. These negotiations stalled recently, but are not yet dead.