The body urged more restrictions on the heavily-sanctioned country, while calling for “de-escalation” in the Middle East
FILE PHOTO. The European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium. © Getty Images / Thierry Monasse
The European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday condemning recent Iranian drone and missile strikes on Israel and calling for new restrictions sanctions against Tehran.
The resolution was backed by an overwhelming majority, with 357 MEPs voting for it and only 20 against. It reiterated the EP’s “full support for the security of the State of Israel and its citizens” and condemned Tehran’s actions.
The April 13 retaliatory strikes were prompted by a deadly attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria two weeks prior, which killed seven senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.
Israel never officially took responsibility for the strike on the diplomatic mission. While the resolution said the MEPs “deplore the attack” on the consulate and underscore “the importance of the principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises,” it did not call for any action in response. Instead, it called for more sanctions against Iran and its partners.
“MEPs welcome the EU’s decision to expand its current sanctions regime against Iran, including by sanctioning the country’s supply and production of unmanned drones and missiles to Russia and the wider Middle East. They demand that these sanctions be urgently put in place and call for more individuals and entities to be targeted,” said the resolution.
The parliament also explicitly called for designating Iran’s elite IRGC force as a terrorist entity, arguing that such a decision was “long overdue due to malign Iranian activities.” Iranian-backed Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, should be placed on the list as well “in its entirety,” the MEPs argued, apparently referring to both the militant and political wings of the group.
