Iran has been the scene of widespread and escalating unrest<\/a> since the end of 2025, with protesters calling for political change in the country that has faced a sharp economic downturn. The protests in Iran have been met by increasingly brutal government crackdown, involving mass arrests, killings and a near-total internet shutdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rights organizations say that thousands have been killed and arrested<\/a> during the unrest. The U.N. Human Rights Council held an emergency session on the situation in Iran and acknowledged that the violence against protesters in recent weeks has been the deadliest since the Iranian revolution in 1979.<\/p>\n European political leaders have stepped up demands for new EU sanctions<\/a> against the regime in Tehran in response to the violent suppression of mass protests across the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe EU already has sweeping sanctions in place on Iran \u2014 on those responsible for human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation activities and Tehran\u2019s support for Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine \u2014 and I am prepared to propose additional sanctions in response to the regime\u2019s brutal repression of protestors,\u201d EU\u2019s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas,\u00a0told POLITICO<\/a> earlier this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1A3A0291-1024x683.jpg\")
Rights organizations say that thousands have been killed and arrested during the unrest. | Ferdinand Knapp\/POLITICO<\/p>\n