Overview
- The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, joined by the European Union’s high representative, issued the statement on January 14.
- They voiced grave concern over nationwide protests that began in late December following economic freefall and a collapsing rial.
- The statement condemned reported killings, injuries, arbitrary detentions, and intimidation by security forces.
- It urged Iranian authorities to exercise restraint and to protect freedoms of expression, information, association, and peaceful assembly.
- The ministers said they remain prepared to impose additional restrictive measures, while no specific new sanctions were announced, and HRANA reported 2,403 protesters killed with other tallies exceeding 3,000 as verification remains limited by communications shutdowns.