EU ministers approve new Iran sanctions over protest crackdown

Iran’s army said it has added 1,000 drones to its four service branches on Thursday, as tensions rise in the region.

The drones were built by army specialists with support from the defense ministry and were designed based on what Iran described as new threats and lessons from the 12-day war in June, Revolutionary Guards-linked media, Tasnim, reported.

They include strike, attack, surveillance and electronic warfare drones intended to hit fixed and mobile targets on land, at sea and in the air.

Army commander Major General Amir Hatami said the force was focused on maintaining and upgrading its capabilities to respond quickly to any attack. “Preserving and enhancing strategic advantages for rapid combat and a crushing response to any aggression is always on the army’s agenda,” he said.

No images of the drones were released due to what the army said were security considerations.

France said on Thursday it supports adding Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations, as EU foreign ministers met in Brussels to approve new sanctions over Tehran’s crackdown on protests.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Paris had decided to back the move after previously taking a more cautious position.

“The extraordinary courage of the Iranian women and men who have been targeted by this violence cannot be in vain. That is why we will today impose European sanctions against those responsible for this repression: government officials, prosecutors, police unit chiefs, members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, and those responsible for blocking the internet,” Barrot told reporters on arrival at the meeting.

He said the EU would impose new sanctions targeting those responsible for the repression, including government officials, prosecutors, police commanders, members of the Revolutionary Guard, and officials involved in blocking internet access.

Iran’s parliament vice speaker warned US President Donald Trump that any attack on Iran would be met with sustained retaliation, saying there would be no limited war, state media reported.

“Strike once and we will keep hitting back until we end them,” Hamid Reza Haji-Babaei said at a public event in the western city of Hamedan. “We have no limited war.”

Referring to the US military buildup in the region, he said American naval power would not deter Iran. “An aircraft carrier cannot stand against a Basij fighter in a small boat,” he said.

Haji-Babaei said Iran was not seeking conflict and was trying to prevent war, but warned that Tehran would respond broadly if attacked. “If this happens, wherever and whichever country supports America, we will strike there,” he said.

He also described current conditions as an “economic war,” calling for unity at home as tensions with Washington rise.

Didban Iran website said branches in several banks were running out of banknotes on a daily basis, with customers arriving later in the working day sometimes unable to withdraw cash.

The report comes as inflation continues to erode purchasing power, and analysts have long said Iran’s chronic price rises have increased pressure for larger-denomination banknotes.

According to the Central Bank of Iran’s latest data, banknotes and coins held by the public rose by more than 23% in the first eight months of the current Iranian year, which began on March 21, 2025, compared with 0.8% growth over the same period a year earlier.

Iran’s largest widely circulating note is the 2,000,000-rial “Iran cheque” (about $1.22), which has steadily lost value in real terms.

The report added that the maximum daily cash withdrawal from ATMs has recently been set at 3,000,000 rials (about $1.83), a limit that has pushed more customers to visit branches in person to access larger sums.

The Central Bank has not publicly commented on the reported shortages or whether additional currency issuance is planned.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will visit Turkey on Friday for talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on recent developments in Iran and tensions with the United States, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source told Reuters.

The visit comes after US President Donald Trump urged Iran to make a deal on its nuclear program and warned that any future US attack would be more severe, after sending what he described as an “armada” to the Middle East.

Turkey, a NATO member that shares a border with Iran, has said it opposes any foreign military intervention against its neighbor and has urged Washington to resolve its disputes with Tehran through dialogue.