UK sanctions Iran over kidnap threats
The UK has announced a new Iran-specific sanctions regime, after Tehran stepped up efforts to kill or kidnap British or UK-based individuals. Rishi Sunak’s government said the UK has faced more than 15 credible threats in the past year – a figure earlier reported by Tortoise in May. “The Iranian regime is oppressing its own people, exporting bloodshed in Ukraine and the Middle East, and threatening to kill and kidnap on UK soil,” James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, said in the House of Commons yesterday. Currently, the UK can sanction Iranians for human rights violations or nuclear proliferation activities within Iran – the new system will make it easier to target individuals for activities outside the country. The UK, which also announced new sanctions on 13 Iranian individuals and entities, warned that Iran has developed close ties with criminal gangs in the UK and Europe.
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