European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies, Germany & Netherlands – ECCI
EU countries summon Iranian ambassadors amid fresh calls for sanctions
euractiv – Possible new measures could include designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation
MADRID – Several EU countries – including Spain, Finland, Belgium and Czechia – have summoned Iranian ambassadors amid a widening diplomatic backlash over Tehran’s violent crackdown on protesters, and as pressure mounts on the EU to toughen sanctions against the Iranian regime.
The diplomatic démarches come as protests have spread across Iran following weeks of unrest, met by a sweeping security crackdown, internet shutdowns and mass arrests. Human rights groups say hundreds of demonstrators have been killed, prompting growing calls within the EU for a tougher response towards Tehran.
“We wish to express our strong rejection and condemnation of what is happening in Iran,” Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on Tuesday, adding that he would tell his Iranian counterpart, Reza Zabib, that Tehran must respect peaceful protest and freedom of expression, restore internet access, halt arbitrary arrests and return to the “dialogue and negotiation table.”
Madrid’s move followed a decision by Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen to summon Iran’s ambassador on Tuesday in response to a nationwide internet shutdown and the violent repression of protests.
On Monday evening, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot also called in Iran’s ambassador, demanding that Iranian authorities “fulfill their international obligations.” The Czech Foreign Ministry took a similar step, while Prague issued a travel warning urging its citizens not to travel to Iran and calling on those still in the country to leave immediately.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he expects Iran’s ruling leadership to fall amid the mass protests.
“If a regime can only hold on to power through violence, then it is effectively at an end. I assume that we are now witnessing the last days and weeks of this regime,” Merz said during a visit to Bengaluru, India.
Merz, like French President Emmanuel Macron, had already condemned the violence used by Iranian security forces against peaceful demonstrators on Monday.
“I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population instead of threatening it,” Merz said, praising the courage of protesters demanding freedom as “entirely legitimate.”
Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the rising number of casualties in Iran was “horrifying,” condemning the excessive use of force and restrictions on freedoms, while noting that the EU has already listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under its human rights sanctions regime.
Sanctions gain traction
Several EU leaders have stopped short of recalling ambassadors but have stepped up calls for sanctions following Iran’s repression, which has led to the killing of at least 648 protesters since the unrest began, according to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights.
Belgium said it is open to discussing new EU sanctions, while Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel went further, urging the EU to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.
On Monday, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola banned Iranian diplomats from entering the Parliament. The chamber has called for the IRGC to be listed as a terrorist group since 2022, a step Australia took last November.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she stands ready to propose new sanctions.
While it remains unclear what form any additional EU sanctions could take, pressure is also coming from the European Parliament. In a letter to Kallas sent in December and seen by Euractiv, David McAllister, chair of the Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, urged the bloc to harden its stance towards Iran significantly.
McAllister argues that the EU’s current approach has failed to curb the regime’s behaviour or limit its repression at home.
Several options remain “untapped,” he wrote, including designating the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, expanding personal sanctions, tightening controls on technology exports, stepping up enforcement and considering trade sanctions.
These steps, he said, should form part of a broader EU Middle East strategy linking foreign, security and human rights objectives into a single, coherent approach.
European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies, Germany & Netherlands – ECCI
