European Parliament bans Iranian diplomats

All the Iranian diplomats and representatives will be banned from the European Parliament’s premises as a response to Iran’s crackdown on protesters, the Parliament’s president, Roberta Metsola, announced on Monday.

“This House will not aid in legitimising this regime that has sustained itself through torture, repression, and murder”, Metsola wrote on X.

The ban will apply to all the Parliament’s premises in Brussels, Strasbourg, and Luxembourg, and will remain in place until revoked by another president’s decision.

In the meantime, the European Union is prepared to push for fresh sanctions on the country after the repression of the protesters.

Earlier on Monday, a European Commission spokesperson confirmed that Brussels was working on “new, more severe” sanctions against the Iranian regime using a “dedicated legal framework” to target individuals and entities accused of “serious human rights violations and abuses”.

“This is a decision for member states to take unanimously,” the Commission spokesperson said.

They also noted that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a heavily armed force under the Ayatollah’s direct command, was already under EU sanctions but had not yet been designated as a terrorist organisation, an issue that has been discussed for years.

Under current rules, adding a new person or entity to the bloc’s terrorist list requires a decision issued by a judicial body in one of the 27 member states.

In late 2024, EU officials found the legal basis in a ruling issued by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court that found the 2022 attack against the Bochum synagogue in western Germany had been initiated by an Iranian state agency.

Despite the breakthrough, the discussion stalled, and there was never any follow-up decision.

Germany, France, and the Netherlands are among the member states that have previously expressed support for the move. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the European Parliament have also backed the idea.

The US and Canada already officially categorise the IRGC as a terrorist entity.

The EU’s statements and latest discussions come as Iran’s death toll continues to rise following demonstrations that erupted on 28 December over the collapse of the Iranian rial.

According to a report by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, more than 10,600 people have been detained and more than 500 killed during two weeks of escalating protests. Of the reported fatalities, 48 were security personnel and 496 were demonstrators.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has convened the European heads of mission. The ambassadors have expressed their concerns about the government’s crackdown, according to diplomatic sources.