US Targets Supply Of Iranian Drones To Russia In New Sanctions

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday there is no doubt that the Iranian regime is brutally repressing its own people.

Speaking at the opening of the 8th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Berlin, Baerbock stated there are reports that Iranian regime has issued the first death sentence against a person who took part in the protests after the death of Mahsa Amini, “who simply wished to live in freedom like many others.”

“The Islamic Republic is threatening many more protestors with the death penalty, underlined the German minister.

On Sunday, a Revolutionary Court in Iran issued the first death penalty against a protester and another court sentenced five others from five to 10 years in jail each.

Baerbock hailed the decision to impose sanctions on Iranian officials on Monday saying the EU sanctions were put in place to target those who are responsible in Tehran.

“We see with great concern how authoritarian regimes use the death penalty to repress political opponents more and more,” she noted.

“They are not carrying out the death penalty for severe crimes such as murder – but they are using it against people simply expressing their feelings such as who they love, people expressing their opinions or celebrating freedom and life, for example with music and dancing,” she underlined.

Iranian security forces have killed at least 340 people including 43 children and 25 women during the ongoing protests.

In a video message on Tuesday, he expressed solidarity with Iranians, saying he joins the international calls for the Islamic Republic to immediately stop the abduction of protesters and to release all political prisoners, many of whom require urgent care.

“I've been in awe of the courage the Iranian people have shown, particularly the brave women and girls as they fight for their freedom. The Iranian people's fight is about more than a headscarf. It’s a fight for basic rights: the right to speak, assemble freely, appear unveiled, to realize their dreams... for themselves and their children. The right to a future they can chart,” added the former president.

Addressing the Iranian nation, Clinton noted the world is witnessing their courage adding, “we will stand with you for as long as it takes to achieve your freedom.”

He also addressed the international community, stressing that “the Iranian people need us. They want to be part of our global community.”

Calling Iranians “educated, highly industrious, creative, and sophisticated,” he said they want normal relations with the West, so they deserve to be supported.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani called the new round of sanctions “illegal and interventionist.”

He also added that the European parties have lost their “rationality” as such a “wrong approach” would restrict their “scope of interactions.”

Kanaani also threatened that Tehran will take countermeasures against such actions based on its national interests.

The European Union sanctioned 29 Iranians and three entities Monday over what it said was human rights violations related to suppression of ongoing protests.

A statement issued in Brussels, where foreign ministers met, said the move was over “their role in the death of Mahsa Amini and the violent response to the recent demonstrations in Iran.”

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters that the new sanctions would “send a clear message to those who think they can suppress, intimidate and kill their own people without consequences.”

Britain also slapped a new round of sanctions on 24 Iranian officials who played a role in cracking down on protests after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

In a press release on Monday the United Kingdom announced the “sanctions target officials within the Iranian regime who are responsible for heinous human rights violations.”

This ship was transiting from Iran along a route in the Gulf of Oman that has been used to traffic weapons to Yemen's Houthi group, reported Reuters.

Releasing a statement on Tuesday, US Navy's Fifth Fleet said its forces found over 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate on the vessel that is generally used to make rocket and missile fuel, as well as explosives.

“This was a massive amount of explosive material, enough to fuel more than a dozen medium-range ballistic missiles depending on the size,” said Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces.

A Saudi-led military coalition battling the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen since 2015 has repeatedly accused Tehran of supplying weapons to the group, but the Islamic Republic denies the accusation.

The Islamic Republic has not commented on the accusation yet.

The Fifth Fleet further noted that four Yemeni crew were onboard the vessel which was also carrying 100 tons of urea fertilizer that is used in agriculture but also for making explosives.

US forces sank the ship on Sunday in the Gulf of Oman as it was a "hazard to navigation for commercial shipping" and its crew were handed over to the Yemen coast guard, it added.

Last December, the Fifth Fleet seized a shipment of rifles and ammunitions from a fishing boat. It announced that the cargo is believed to be sent by the Islamic Republic for the Houthis.

In a statement by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the White House expressed deep concerns about Islamic Republic’s mass arrests, sham trials, and the impending death sentence for protesters voicing legitimate demands against “a government that systematically denies basic dignity and freedom to its people.”

“The eyes of the world are on Iran,” he said, stressing that “The human rights abuses inflicted by its government must not go without consequence.”

He also welcomed new set of sanctions by the European Union and the UK over its bloody crackdown on protests, underway since the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini mid-September, saying that the United States, standing with our partners and allies around the world, staunchly supports Iranian people and their demands. The US will continue to pursue accountability for those responsible for these abuses through sanctions and other means, he added. 

Mentioning Iranian dissident blogger Hossein Ronaghi, who was transferred temporarily from Evin prison to hospital after reports of torture, Sullivan said, “The torture and mistreatment of political prisoners like Mr. Ronaghi must cease.”

Tehran residents rushed to a hospital Sunday night as news emerged that Ronaghi had been taken there in a critical condition. Ronaghi who has been on hunger strike since his arrest on September 24, has refused liquid nourishment and water since Saturday.