EU agrees to sanctions against Iranian intelligence service over 'assassination plot'

Arab News
Tue, 08 Jan 2019 09:34 UTC

© (File/AFP)

The European Union has agreed sanctions against an Iranian intelligence service for planning assassinations in Europe, Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said on Tuesday.

"EU just agreed to enact sanctions against an Iranian Intelligence Service for its assassination plots on European soil. Strong signal from the EU that we will not accept such behaviour in Europe," Samuelsen said on Twitter.

Comment: RT provides more details surrounding the move:

[...]

Specific details in relation to potential new European sanctions against Iran are unclear; nor is it known whether they are close to being implemented. Foreign ministers of EU member states had reportedly agreed to consider sanctions in response to the supposed Iranian plot at a meeting in mid-November.

In late October, Danish security forces said they had arrested a man who was allegedly plotting to assassinate the leader of the Danish branch of an Iranian Arab separatist movement. Tehran denied the accusations as "hostile" and said they were in line with the "enemies' plots" to undermine Iranian-European relations.

The European Commission, while backing Denmark's accusation and condemning Tehran, has urged member states to not let it impact the JCPOA Iran nuclear deal of 2015. The US, which unilaterally pulled out of the agreement in May 2018, simply praised Denmark for arresting an "Iranian regime assassin."

US President Donald Trump's administration has been cracking down on Iran, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism and violating international obligations. It has repeatedly warned the EU against maintaining trade with Tehran, but Europe has so far been determined to keep JCPOA alive, and is working on a mechanism to bypass American sanctions.

The target of the alleged plot was a local leader of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA), the Danish Foreign Ministry said at the time. ASMLA, pushing for a separate Arab state within Iran, is classified as a terrorist organization by Tehran.

Tehran has blamed ASMLA for the September 28, 2018 attack on a military parade in Ahvaz, which left 30 people dead and 70 injured. ASMLA denied responsibility, blaming the attack instead on a splinter group within the movement.

It seems like a fairly weak accusation and an unlikely action Iran would be involved in, but it's likely welcome by those looking for an incident to scupper the JCPOA:

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