The European Union has imposed sanctions on eight Iranian militia commanders and police chiefs, including the head of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, over a deadly crackdown in November 2019, the bloc said in its official journal.
The travel bans and asset freezes are the first EU sanctions on Iran for human rights abuses since 2013.
The bloc, which also hit three Iranian prisons with asset freezes, blacklisted Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guards, the most powerful and heavily armed security force in the Islamic republic.
“Hossein Salami took part in the sessions that resulted in the orders to use lethal force to suppress the November 2019 protests. Hossein Salami therefore bears responsibility for serious human rights violations in Iran,” the EU said on Monday.
Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday said it strongly rejects the sanctions, and will in response suspend talks with the EU on human rights and all resulting cooperation, including that on terrorism, illicit drugs, and refugees.
