"The confrontational and sanction policy will be met with Iran's proportional response," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told his Belgian counterpart Hadja Lahbib during a telephone conversation on Monday.







Earlier in the day, the European Union announced that it was imposing restrictive measures on additional eight individuals and one entity, including members of the Judiciary, a member of the Iranian parliament, clerics, and a senior official of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).

Also on Monday, Britain imposed sanctions on more senior officials of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), including those whom it claimed were responsible for managing the elite force's financial investments.

Both Brussels and London have alleged that they have resorted to the coercive measures over, what they called were, the Islamic Republic's treatment of foreign-backed riots that followed the death of a young Iranian woman in police custody last year.

Amir-Abdollahian condemned the EU and the UK's recent bans, saying, "Some European parties accuse others of seeking recourse to violence, while themselves have a dark history of dual behavior concerning the issue of human rights and [tow a history of] systematic violation of these rights."

He cited the French police's treatment of recent protests against Paris' plans to raise the retirement age as a case in point.

The Belgian official, for her part, condemned any instance of dual approach, insisting on the need for resolution of standing differences between Tehran and Brussels through negotiation.

The top Iranian and Belgian diplomats also conferred on bilateral ties and consular issues during the phone call.

Amir-Abdollahian also thanked her Belgian counterpart for felicitating the Persian new year.

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