The day so far
We are pausing our live coverage, thank you so much for reading along. Here’s a brief recap of the main developments:
The head of the European Commission said the EU is considering further sanctions on Iran, as she described the killing of young people as a human tragedy.
The UN security council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss Iran’s crackdown on protests, following a request by the United States, around 3pm ET.
The Trump administration announced new sanctions against more than a dozen Iranian individuals and entities that it alleges are the “architects” of the regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters, and whom laundered the revenue generated by oil sales to foreign markets.
A local Red Crescent staff member was killed and five others were injured while on duty in Iran, the global Red Cross federation said.
A Canadian citizen died in Iran at the hands of the Iranian authorities, Canada’s foreign minister Anita Anand disclosed, but she did not give details of how or when. Condemning the regime’s violence, Anand said that peaceful protests by Iranians who are “asking that their voices be heard” have led the regime to “flagrantly disregard human life”.
New Zealand’s foreign affairs minister said he is “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression in Iran” and condemned the “brutal crackdown” by the security forces, “including the killing of protesters”.
Updated
EU looking at further sanctions on Iran, says von der Leyen
The head of the European Commission has said the EU is considering further sanctions on Iran, as she described the killing of young people as a human tragedy.
Speaking to reporters in Limassol, Ursula von der Leyen said:
What is happening in Iran is abhorrent and the killing of the young people is a human tragedy.
The EU already has extensive sanctions against Iran, including restrictive measures against more than 230 Iranian government officials, police, judges and more than 40 state organisations including the morality police and prisons.
EU sanctions are proposed by the European commission, but must be agreed unanimously by the EU’s 27 member states.
While the bloc has sanctions against members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, it has never been able to agree to designate it as a terrorist organisation.
Von der Leyen said, “we are looking into deepening the sanctions against Iran,” adding they were “biting” and having an effect.
Sanctions help to push forward that this regime comes to an end and that there is a change.
Protesters against the regime were asking for the listing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard and others responsible for atrocities, she said.
They are asking us to list them and I can fully understand with what is happening in Iran that this is something of importance and yes, we will do so.
Von der Leyen did not elaborate further.
