Iran has announced tit-for-tat sanctions against more than 30 European individuals and entities in response to a similar move by the European Union over Tehran's deadly crackdown on protesters who continue to take to the streets in anger over the death of a young woman while in police custody for an alleged dress-code violation.
Those hit by the Iranian sanctions on January 25 include Britain's attorney general and army chief of staff, along with several European parliamentarians and European military officials.
Three staff members from the French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo were also on the list. Last month, the controversial weekly published dozens of cartoons mocking Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest religious and political authority in Iran.
Two days earlier, EU ministers agreed on a new package of sanctions against Iran, targeting those driving the "brutal and disproportionate use of force by the Iranian authorities against peaceful protesters."
Despite the harsh reaction by authorities, Iranians continue to protest with videos published on social media showing them taking to windows and rooftops to show their anger at the government. Many chanted slogans against the country's leaders amid an outcry that erupted in mid-September after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while she was being held by police for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly.
The unrest, which has spread across the country, is proving to be one of the biggest threats to Iran's leadership since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Protesters in Tehran's Ekbatan neighborhood showed how deep their hatred of the government's intrusion on their freedoms is bychanting the slogan “death to the dictator,” a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Similar chants could be heard in Narmak, a neighborhood in the east of the capital.
Meanwhile, the Telegram channel of the country's students' union councils published pictures of a rally held at Tehran University's Fine Arts Campus, where students protested rulings against them from the disciplinary committee because of their demonstrations.
In recent months, the Tehran University of Arts has been a center of creative performances in support of protests in Iran. Among them, a performance of symbolic tombstones in the university campus in memory of the protesters killed by the security forces, which has gone viral on social media.
The government's brutal crackdown on the demonstrators has seen thousands arrested, including journalists, lawyers, activists, digital rights defenders, and others voicing opposition to the government.
Lawmakers have demanded an even sharper reaction, calling for heavy penalties, including death sentences, for protesters.
Four public executions have already taken place, according to authorities, and rights groups say many others have been handed death sentences, while at least two dozen others face charges that could carry the death penalty.