EU ministers approved fresh sanctions on Iran this week in an attempt to tighten pressure over human rights abuses and Tehran’s support for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The EU first imposed sanctions on Iran in the late 2000s, mirroring a series of UN Security Council measures over Tehran’s nuclear programme — beginning in 2006 when it demanded Iran suspend uranium enrichment and nuclear-related trade. Stronger measures were introduced in 2011 in response to continued human rights