EU sanctions Iran Guards over closure of Hormuz

The European Union imposed sanctions on Monday on the spokesman for the naval arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and a regional command unit over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The measures targeted two individuals and one IRGC entity under the bloc's freedom-of-navigation sanctions regime.

Who has the EU sanctioned over the Strait of Hormuz closure?

The EU blacklisted Mohammad Akbarzadeh, spokesperson for the IRGC's naval wing, and the organization's Hormozgan Provincial Command. It also placed Hamid Hosseini, a representative of Iran's oil exporters union, under an asset freeze and visa ban.

The sanctions were issued in response to threats to maritime traffic in the strategically vital waterway.

Why has the EU sanctioned Iran over the Strait of Hormuz?

Iran has largely blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict, disrupting a route that previously carried roughly a fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas exports.

Europe has largely been sidelined as the fighting shuttered the key waterway and roiled global markets. The EU's new freedom-of-navigation sanctions regime gave Brussels a legal basis to respond to threats against maritime traffic.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said the bloc's naval mission, currently operating in the Red Sea, could take part in a future Hormuz operation. European nations, led by France and Britain, are working on plans to send a naval mission to the strait once the fighting stops.