Iran can expect more EU sanctions: Scholz

Tehran regime indicts 11 over Basij agent’s death, basketball team skips anthem

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz strongly criticized the Iranian government on Saturday for its bloody crackdown on protests in the country said Germany stands “shoulder to shoulder with the Iranian people.”

Scholz said the ongoing protests sparked by the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini following her detention by Iran’s morality police were no longer “merely a question of dress codes” but had evolved into a fight for freedom and justice.

“We can barely begin to imagine how much courage this takes,” Scholz said. “More than 300 killed, dozens of death sentences and more than 14,000 arrests. So far. Those who demonstrate against oppression in Iran risk their lives, and often also the lives of their loved ones — and face the prospect of torture and decades in prison.”

Hundreds of thousands of people in Germany with Iranian roots fear for their relatives and are “appalled and disgusted by what the mullah regime is doing to the demonstrators,” the chancellor continued.

“It is clear that the Iranian government is solely responsible for this spate of violence.”

Scholz said Iran would receive additional sanctions for its brutal crackdown and its decision to send hundreds of drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine. EU foreign ministers are expected to agree on additional sanctions when they meet on Monday. Germany’s foreign minister on Friday rejected a complaint by her Iranian counterpart that she was taking an “interventionist” stance over protests in Iran and pushed back against his pledge of a “firm” response.

Meanwhile, Iran’s hardline judiciary has indicted 11 people over the killing of a Basij security force member during unrest, as authorities sought to quell nine weeks of protests.

Separately, videos posted on social media purportedly showed the national basketball team refraining from singing the national anthem during a match with China in Tehran on Friday — widely seen as another show of support from athletes for the protests.

More than 300 killed, dozens of death sentences and more than 14,000 arrests. Those who protest against oppression in Iran risk their lives, and the lives of their loved ones. Olaf Scholz

German chancellor