EU Should Separate Issue of Sanctions Against Iran From Nuclear Deal, Finnish Minister Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Union should keep the issue of imposing sanctions against Iran separate from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the nuclear deal, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said on Monday.

"I think the JCPOA is an issue that should be kept a little bit separated from all that is happening now, and there has been strong EU support that Iran would quit the development of nuclear arms, and the EU has been very strongly committed to the support of JCPOA," Haavisto said before the EU Foreign Affairs Council.

On October 17, the EU imposed sanctions on 11 Iranian individuals and four entities, including Iran's controversial morality police, due to the violent crackdown on mass protests in the country over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in September.

Later, the EU included three more individuals and one organization from Iran in a new package of sanctions for allegedly delivering drones to Russia.

Iranians woman protests a 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini's death after she was detained by the morality police, in Tehran, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. in this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran.

© AP Photo / Middle East Images

A controversy around Iranian-made drones emerged in July when the US accused the Islamic Republic of sending UAVs to Russia for the special operation in Ukraine. Both Moscow and Tehran lambasted the claims, saying it is a part of a US disinformation campaign.

Iran has been facing a wave of riots since mid-September in connection with the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who passed away while in police custody after being detained for wearing an "improper" hijab. Several law enforcement officers were killed by the rioters, and Iran accused West of stirring up the violence in the country. Several iranian law enforcement officers were killed by the rioters, and Tehran accused the West of stirring up violence in the country.