The EU on Monday imposed sanctions on the spokesman for the naval arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and a regional command over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Europe has been left on the sidelines as the US war with Iran has shuttered the key waterway and roiled global markets.
The 27-nation bloc said it was blacklisting Mohammad Akbarzadeh, spokesperson for the Guards' naval wing, and the organisation's Hormozgan Provincial Command.
It also said it was placing Hamid Hosseini, a representative of Iran's oil exporters union, under an asset freeze and visa ban.
European nations, spearheaded by France and Britain, are working on plans to send a naval mission to Hormuz once the fighting stops.
EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas has said the bloc's naval mission, currently in the Red Sea, could take part in the operation.
