Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 January 2023
93. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the actions Ireland and the European Union are taking in relation to recent political events in Iran; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4098/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra116. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the further sanctions that are being put in place on Iran in view of ongoing human rights violations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4366/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra118. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the action he has taken to date to sanction the Iranian authorities responsible for the brutal suppression of peaceful protest; his views on whether the Iran Revolutionary Guard should be listed as a terrorist entity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4001/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra120. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he agrees with the call made by European Parliament to classify Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4335/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 93, 116, 118 and 120 together.
Sanctions are an important foreign policy tool, used to deter States from pursuing actions which threaten international stability, or from harming citizens in their own country. Since 2011, the EU has applied sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for human rights violations in Iran. Ireland works with our EU partners to ensure that all sanctions are targeted and, where necessary, contain clear exemptions for humanitarian actors.
At the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council in October, November, and December 2022, sixty individuals and eight entities were sanctioned under the EU’s existing Iran human rights sanctions regime. The EU has also sanctioned seven individuals and five entities under the Ukraine territorial integrity sanctions regime, in relation to the supply of drones to Russia. On 23 January 2023, the Foreign Affairs Council agreed to a further sanctions package targeting 37 additional persons and entities under the Iran Human Rights sanctions regime. Further sanctions will be considered in the coming weeks as the situation develops.
I am aware of the non-binding vote of 19 January by the European Parliament to add the IRGC to the EU’s list of terrorist organisations, in relation to “terrorist activity, the repression of protesters, and its supplying of drones to Russia.”
It is important to note that since 2010 the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been sanctioned by the EU due to its role in the development of Iran’s nuclear programme, which includes asset freezes and travel bans. Further listing of the IRGC under another EU sanctions regime would have limited practical impacts given the existing designation already in place. I also note also that HRVP Borrell has said that the first step towards a terrorist designation of the IRGC by the EU would be a determination by a court in an EU Member State that the IRGC has engaged in terrorism.
Ireland and the EU will continue to work closely with our international partners to ensure that there is a coordinated and firm response to Iran and its ongoing human rights abuses, nuclear activities, supply of weapons to Russia, and destabilising activities in the region.
