More EU nations to summon Iran envoys over executions

Denmark and Belgium said Sunday they would summon Iran’s ambassadors after Tehran executed two men linked to protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, with fresh EU sanctions “on the table”.

The announcements came shortly after fellow EU nation the Netherlands announced similar action.

Iran’s envoy to Denmark will be summoned “to send him the strongest possible and imaginable message that the abuses committed against his people trigger our outrage”, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told news agency Ritzau.

The Danish foreign ministry confirmed to AFP that the meeting would take place on Monday.

Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib wrote on Twitter that she was “horrified” by the executions.

“Together with like-minded EU member states, we will summon the Iranian ambassador. New EU sanctions are on the table,” she said.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra tweeted on Saturday that he was “appalled” and that the Iranian ambassador to the Netherlands would be summoned “to underline our serious concerns”.

A fourth EU sanctions package was “already in preparation” for the 27-nation bloc’s next foreign affairs council to be held on January 23, he added.

Iran on Saturday announced that two men had been hanged for killing a paramilitary force member in November during unprecedented protests sparked by the death in custody of young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini.

The executions sparked international condemnation, with the United Nations denouncing “unfair trials based on forced confessions”.

The United States said the hangings were “a key component of the regime’s effort to suppress protests”, which have shaken the Islamic republic since Amini’s death in September last year.

In December, the European Union imposed a third sanctions package against Iran over the violent crackdown on the protests.