The UK government has announced plans to impose additional sanctions on Iran and has formally summoned Iran’s ambassador in London in response to reports of a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Tuesday that Britain would seek further punitive measures and called in Tehran’s envoy “to answer for the horrific reports” emerging from Iran, where mass demonstrations are demanding an end to the clerical system that has ruled since 1979.
According to activists, at least 648 people have been killed during the protests, which have taken place amid an internet blackout.
Addressing members of parliament, Cooper said the UK would introduce new legislation “to implement full and further sanctions and sectoral measures” against Iran. While Britain has already sanctioned figures and entities linked to Iran’s oil, energy, nuclear and financial sectors, she said the next phase would also target finance, energy, transport, software and “other significant industries which are advancing Iranian nuclear escalation”.
She added that the UK would coordinate with the European Union and international partners on any “additional measures”.
Cooper explained that summoning the ambassador was intended “to underline the gravity of this moment and to call Iran to answer for the horrific reports that we are hearing.” She warned that the information reaching the international community may “underestimate the full scale of the horror” unfolding in Iran.
“The UK will continue to confront the regime’s lies, to call out its repression and to take the steps necessary to protect the UK’s interests,” she said.
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