The EU has approved new sanctions on 19 Iranian officials and entities, its foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Wednesday, citing "serious human rights violations" during Tehran's deadly crackdown on mass protests.Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was not among those hit by the measures, according to diplomatic sources.
"As the Iran war continues, the EU will protect its interests and pursue those responsible for domestic repression," Kallas said, announcing the sanctions agreed by EU member states.
"It also sends a message to Tehran that Iran's future cannot be built on repression."
Nationwide, mass anti-government protests in the Middle Eastern country in January were met with a fierce crackdown that left thousands of people dead.
Mojtaba Khamenei was named Iran's supreme leader after the killing of his father Ali Khamenei in an air strike at the start of the joint US-Israeli bombing campaign that started on February 28.
In place since 2011, European Union sanctions over human rights violations in Iran include travel bans and asset freezes for those targeted.
