BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union sanctioned 15 Iranian officials Thursday over the country’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests, including top commanders of its Revolutionary Guard, ahead of an expected decision to name the entire paramilitary organization as a terrorist group.
The sanctions add to international pressures on the Islamic Republic, which faces a threat of military action from U.S. President Donald Trump in response to the killing of peaceful demonstrators and over possible mass executions. The American military has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers into the Mideast. It remains unclear whether Trump will decide to use force as at least 6,373 people have been killed in the crackdown, activists said.
For its part, Iran has said it could launch a pre-emptive strike or broadly target the Mideast, including American military bases in the region and Israel. Iran issued a warning to ships at sea Thursday that it planned to run a drill next week that would include live firing in the Strait of Hormuz, potentially disrupting traffic through a waterway that sees 20% of all the world’s oil pass through it.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said earlier Thursday that the Revolutionary Guard, which has played a key role in suppressing the demonstrations, likely would also be added to the EU’s list of terrorist organizations.
