The Council of the European Union adopted sanctions on Monday 8 June against two individuals and one entity involved in disrupting freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The EU has thus sanctioned the Hormozgan provincial command of the navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC navy has taken control of the Strait of Hormuz and set up a toll system. Mohammad Akbarzadeh, Deputy Commander for Political Affairs and spokesperson for the navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, is subject to sanctions. The same applies to Hamid Hosseini, representative of Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union and member of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, who “promotes the policy of submitting, undergoing assessment, and paying transit fees to Iranian authorities for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”.
From Nicosia, where European Defence Ministers were holding an informal meeting, the High Representative of the Union, Kaja Kallas, recalled that this was the first time Europeans had imposed sanctions on those responsible for blockading the Strait of Hormuz.
See the legal acts: https://aeur.eu/f/m81
The High Representative also recalled that she had proposed that, as soon as conditions allow, the naval operation ASPIDES should be able to contribute to the Franco-British coalition in the Strait. “In the light of the discussions (between the Ministers), we will continue our efforts on this proposal”, she announced. She recalled that ASPIDES was making “a crucial contribution to protecting navigation in Red Sea”. “The Houthis’ recent threat to also target ships in Red Sea demonstrates the importance of this mission”, she explained.
Call for peace. Beyond maritime security, the High Representative of the Union called for any military escalation to be avoided, while exchanges of strikes have taken place between Iran and Israel. “The region is bogged down in phases of fragile peace and ceasefire talks. A resumption of large-scale war would have disastrous consequences for the whole region. All parties must resume negotiations”, she stressed.
On Saturday, in a statement on behalf of the EU, Mrs Kallas called for the immediate cessation of all military action between Israel and Hezbollah, for the former to withdraw from Lebanese territory and the latter from the area south of the Litani.
“The EU trusts that Israel and Lebanon will continue direct negotiations in a constructive spirit. We urge all actors to fully respect the terms of the agreement and reject any additional condition from Hezbollah”, she had added, specifying that the EU stood ready to support the implementation of an agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
See the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/m82 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)