A day after British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt encouraged the Iranian leadership to stand-strong amid its growing economic turmoil; European Union Foreign Ministers in Brussels endorsed a French government decision to sanction Iranian nationals whom were accused of plotting a bomb attack in Paris, potentially allowing the measures to take effect across the European bloc. Several Minister whom attended the vote voiced the opinion that “technical work could now start on an EU-wide asset freeze on the Iranian intelligence service and two of its operatives, over a failed plot to carry out a bomb attack at a rally near Paris organized by an exiled Iranian opposition group.” Furthermore, Denmark, which announced that it suspected an Iranian government intelligence service had tried to carry out an assassination plot on its soil in October, also pushed for similar EU-wide sanctions against the Islamic Republic, once its investigation is complete. Following the meeting of the Foreign Affairs council, EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said in a press conference that the bloc finds Iran’s actions as “totally unacceptable” and will enact targeted responses in light of Tehran’s malign activities on European soil. In Mogherini’s words, “what has happened has been completely unacceptable, and this was clearly stated by all of us during those days and again today. And the Council will take forward some work to explore appropriate targeted responses in light of what has happened in Danish territory.” The European Union’s Foreign Affairs Chief took the opportunity to once again claim a unanimous position of all EU Member states on the Iranian topic. Mogherini admitted that it does not mean that the EU can turn a blind eye to the Islamic republic’s malign activities across the Middle East. According to her, “The countries work is moving forward and there is full unity of all the member states, reiterated today on the fact that it is our essential security interest as Europeans to keep the agreement in place. This doesn’t mean at all that we turn a blind eye on other things that are not covered in any way by an agreement that is, as you know very well, a nuclear agreement (JCPOA). This includes some of he situations in the region.”
