Iran denounces new sanctions

The Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani has refuted the charges made against Tehran in a recent resolution passed by the European Parliament, and denounced the new sanctions that the United States, Britain and Canada have placed on a number of Iranian citizens and firms.

The spokesperson also attacked several European nations for adhering to the harsh policies of the US administration by criticizing the European Parliament's decision against Iran.

He emphasized that Iran’s military capabilities are built in accordance with its needs to preserve territorial integrity and sovereignty, defend national security and interests, and provide a legitimate and deterrent defense against external threats and acts of aggression.

According to Kanaani, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is a major partner of the international community in providing peace and security to the region and the world, as well as in the fight against international terrorism.”

Imposing the sanctions, he said, the sanctions against Iran’s defense sector will actually present a chance to advance the nation’s military and defense capabilities and self-sufficiency, rather than weakening its resolve to strengthen its defense of its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national interests.

“Many nations and governments, specifically in the West Asia region, hold out no hope of the role of the US and its European allies in the establishment of stability and security in the region anymore,” the spokesman continued. 

His remarks followed the announcement of further sanctions against Iran on Thursday by the US, Britain, and Canada in response to its retaliatory strike against Israeli military targets on April 13.

The three states said that they will punish people and companies “closely involved” in Iran’s drone manufacture in order to target the country’s drone and missile sectors.

By a vote of 357 to 20, the European Parliament on Thursday passed a resolution denouncing Iran’s use of drones and missiles against the Israeli regime and urging the imposition of more penalties on Iranian organizations.

The Treasury Department and the State Department said on Tuesday that the United States government has imposed charges and penalties on four Iranian nationals in connection with an alleged multi-year cyber operation that targeted over a dozen American firms.

The Treasury Department issued sanctions on two firms, Dadeh Afzar Arman and Mehrsam Andisheh Saz Nik, which it claimed employed the individual defendants and served as front organizations for Iran’s Revolution Guards cyber command.

The business targets, according to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, were mostly defense contractors with access to confidential data; other targets included an accountancy firm and a hotel company located in New York. 

“These actors targeted more than a dozen US companies and government entities through cyber operations, including spear phishing and malware attacks,” the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

The defendants, according to the prosecution, used spearfishing—a tactic that entails deceiving email recipients into clicking on harmful links—and impersonating women to win over people’s trust in order to infect computers with malware.

The Israeli airstrike, which took place in Damascus’s Mezzeh district, resulted in the deaths of seven military advisors from the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). Iranian officials have vowed a decisive response to what they described as a violation of international obligations and conventions.

Zahra Ershadi, Iran’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, told the 15-member Security Council that Iran reserves the right "to take a decisive response" to the attack, saying Israel violated the founding UN Charter, international law, and the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises.

Israel’s crime clearly breached the basic principles of diplomatic and consular immunity, as well as the 1961 Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and the 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes, the diplomat stated.

 

GSP plus status for Pakistan: An incentive or exploitative tool

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for a review of the GSP plus status granted to Pakistan. The resolution calls on the Government of Pakistan to unequivocally condemn incitement to violence and discrimination against religious minorities in the country. It also expresses deep concern at the prevailing anti-French sentiments in Pakistan.

The EU Parliament calls on the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to immediately review Pakistan’s eligibility for GSP plus status and whether there is sufficient reason to initiate a procedure for the temporary withdrawal of this status and the benefits that come with it, and to report to the European Parliament on this matter as soon as possible

The EU resolution expresses particular concern about Ms. Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel, who were sentenced death penalty on blasphemy charges in 2014.

The couple remains in jail pending a court ruling on their appeal against their death sentence. The appeal was due to be heard in April 2020, six years after they were sentenced, but has been postponed multiple times, most recently on 15^th February 2021, according to the resolution.

The resolution says Pakistan has benefited from trade preferences under the GSP plus since 2014, while the economic benefits from this unilateral trade agreement for the country are considerable. However, the GSP plus status comes with the obligation to ratify and implement 27 international conventions including commitments to guarantee human rights and religious freedom.

"In its latest GSP plus assessment of Pakistan on 10 February 2020, the Commission expressed a variety of serious concerns on the human rights situation in the country, notably the lack of progress in limiting the scope and implementation of the death penalty," the text says.

It says the EU Parliament considers the violent demonstrations against France as unacceptable and is deeply concerned by the anti-French sentiment in Pakistan, which has led French nationals and companies to have to leave the country temporarily.

It may be said that be it textile quota regime of the past or current GSP plus status for the developing countries, it is sole aimed at getting the supplies at huge discount as well as twisting the arms as and when desired by attaching certain frills, the most common being human rights and religious extremism.

One is amazed that the member countries of the EU allow printing of blasphemous content on the pretext of ‘Right of expression’, despite knowing that these have been instigating violent reactions.  However, this time, the sole objective of this resolution seems to be pressurizing the Government of Pakistan to release the couple facing death sentence. The west has achieved its desired objectives in the past by following ‘arm twisting’ policy.

It may not be inappropriate to remind the developed countries that for ages they have been exploiting the developing countries, rich in natural resources. Ongoing proxy wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and economic sanctions on Iran are the most naked examples of their aggressions. People living in these countries as well as many other countries are losing patience and at times even the smallest incident leads to heavy loss of human lives and properties.