A unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and two Iranian people were sanctioned by the European Union on Monday for endangering the freedom of marine trade in the Strait of Hormuz, which is where around a fifth of the world's oil flows.
This was the first time the bloc had sanctioned Iran for limiting freedom of navigation using new powers.
The IRGC Navy's Hormozgan Provincial Command, together with Mohammad Akbarzadeh and Hamid Hosseini, were added to the sanctions list by the EU, according to AFP.
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It stated that Hosseini represents Iran's Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters' Union, while Akbarzadeh is the IRGC Navy's deputy commander for political affairs.
After US-Israeli strikes on Iran started on Feb. 28, Iran took action to block the Strait of Hormuz. Energy prices have skyrocketed as a result of the Iran war and the closing of the Hormuz Strait.
"What Iran is doing is not acceptable," the EU's foreign policy leader, Kaja Kallas, earlier stated at a news conference in Cyprus that member states have authorised sanctions against Iranian organisations and individuals involved in obstructing transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Kallas continued, "This is the first time the EU has implemented its new freedom of navigation regime, and we will apply it again when necessary."
The EU announced last month that it was moving forward with penalties on Iranian officials and those in charge of obstructing the Strait of Hormuz. The sanctions would include asset freezes and travel restrictions.
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Additionally, it will be illegal for EU nationals and businesses to provide money, assets, or other financial resources to anyone on the list.
Following an IDF strike on Beirut's southern Dahiyeh area earlier in the day, which prompted Israeli bombings in Iran, the Islamic Republic initiated ballistic missile attacks on Israel, provoking Kallas's declaration.
Iran and the Houthis in Yemen launched additional missile attacks on Israel as a result of those strikes.
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