Germany pushes for further EU sanctions against Iran

BERLIN

Germany on Monday called for further EU sanctions against Iran due to its support for Russia, and its retaliatory missile attacks on Israel.

Germany’s Europe Minister Anna Luhrmann accused Iran of destabilizing the Middle East, launching attacks against Israel and providing support to the groups fighting Israel.

“We cannot leave all these unanswered, and we will therefore discuss how we can respond with new sanctions,” she told reporters in Luxembourg, ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

She slammed Iran also for supplying arms and ballistic missiles to Russia, and said the EU ministers will adopt new sanctions today to target Iranian entities involved in these weapons transfers.

“Iran is providing support to Russia in its brutal war against Russia, that is why we will be deciding today new sanctions against Iran, also in this context,” Luhrmann said.

Responding to a question from a reporter, the minister said that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps should be listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union.

“The German government has long been campaigning for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to be classified as a terrorist organization, and it is now high time that the EU clears the way for this,” she told reporters.

Germany has been a staunch ally of Israel, and German government officials have repeatedly said the country bears special responsibility for Israel’s security due to its Nazi past.

But the government has come under growing pressure in recent months due to the Israeli military’s disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.

In a recent poll by public broadcaster ARD, 57% of Germans said Israel’s military actions in Gaza have “gone too far,” and 68% opposed providing military support for Israel. Only 21% voiced support for Israel.