© AFP
Following a meeting with his counterparts in Brussels on Monday, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Jean Asselborn has denounced Iran’s regime as a “military dictatorship that only understands the language of sanctions.”
Foreign ministers from across the European Union convened in Brussels on Monday to approve further sanctions against 31 Iranian firms and individuals in response to the country’s widespread crackdown on protesters. These include people from what has been labelled the inner circle of power of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
An estimated 15,000 protesters have been arrested since the death of Mahsa Amini plunged the country into civil unrest in the middle of September.
In typical frank manner, Luxembourg’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Jean Asselborn denounced the Iranian regime as a military dictatorship that only understands the language of sanctions. These have been reinforced not only as a response to the recent human rights violations, but also as a reaction to Iran’s support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Monday’s meeting also made tensions resurface between Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and the French government, which began after Italy recently prevented 230 refugees from leaving humanitarian ship ‘Ocean Viking’. The refugees were eventually able to go on land in the French port city of Toulon.
France described the incident as an exceptional reception made “out of duty to humanness”. Minister Asselborn addressed this confrontation on Monday and noted that it represents a “shabby game with human beings looking for help.”
Read also: Asselborn confirms Luxembourg will welcome migrants
Over the past couple of months, Luxembourg has accepted asylum requests from 283 people from Italy. Minister Asselborn thus underlined the importance of finding both a common and European solution to the immigration problem.
Two thirds of the refugees from the Ocean Viking are expected to find a new home in one of eleven EU countries, including the Grand Duchy.