EU Sanctions Iranians over Hormuz Shipping Disruptions

The European Union has imposed sanctions on two Iranian individuals and a unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over actions deemed to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route.

In a statement on Monday, the EU said it had sanctioned the IRGC Navy's Hormozgan regional command, along with Mohammad Akbarzadeh, a political affairs official within the force, and Hamid Hosseini, a representative of Iran's oil, gas and petrochemical exporters' association.

The move marks the first use of the EU's new sanctions framework designed to protect maritime navigation.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said member states agreed to act in response to Iranian measures that disrupted transit through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil supplies pass.

Iran dismissed the sanctions as a "political" and "hypocritical" measure, with Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi insisting Tehran would continue to safeguard its sovereignty over the strategic waterway.

The sanctions come amid heightened tensions following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz after U.S.-Israeli attacks that began in late February.