EU foreign policy chief warns Iran poses threat to international peace

The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs said Iran poses an ongoing threat to international peace as the bloc called for a halt to executions and urged Tehran to align with international human rights standards.

Kaja Kallas said the council in its meeting on Monday "discussed Iran’s continuing threats to international peace". European member states, she added, emphasized that Tehran's "practice of detaining foreign nationals for political leverage must end."

"We also will have a deeper discussion on Iran and European Union-Iran policy, in the very near future," she added.

The Council of the European Union in a meeting on Monday called on Iran to halt executions and align its policies with international human rights standards, emphasizing the rights of women, girls, and minority groups.

“The EU will also urge Iran to release all arbitrarily detained individuals, including foreign and dual nationals, to bring detention conditions into line with international standards and to provide due process to all detainees,” the Council said in a statement.

The Council also demanded Tehran's full cooperation with UN mechanisms, including the Independent Fact-Finding Mission and the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran.

Earlier on Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that his country would propose the European Union issue sanctions against Iranian officials responsible for the detention of French citizens in Iran.

At least three French nationals, Olivier Grondeau, Cecile Kohler, and Jacques Paris, were detained in 2022 and remain in custody in Iran.

Last week, the European Parliament adopted a motion for a resolution condemning Iran’s detention of European Union citizens, labelling the practice as “hostage diplomacy.”

The resolution called for the immediate and safe release of all EU citizens held in the country, including the three French nationals—Grondeau, Kohler, and Paris—as well as Swedish-Iranian death-row prisoner Ahmadreza Djalali.