EU leaders condemn crackdown and mass executions in Iran

In the final statement of the two-day European Council summit in Brussels, published on Friday, 16 October 2026, the leaders of the European Union's member states strongly condemned the continuing violence and severe repression of the Iranian people by the Islamic Republic, including mass executions. They called for respect for Iranians' fundamental rights and freedoms, including their right to determine their own future.

The same statement condemned the Islamic Republic's attacks on countries in the region, expressed solidarity with the countries targeted, and urged Tehran and its proxy groups to end these attacks and any other destabilising action and to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the region's states. The European leaders stressed once again that the Islamic Republic must never obtain a nuclear weapon, must comply with its binding safeguards obligations under the NPT and must resume full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea

The statement strongly condemned any action that threatens global shipping or prevents commercial vessels from entering and leaving the Strait of Hormuz. According to the European leaders, any arrangement for the strait must be consistent with international law and the Convention on the Law of the Sea, must not restrict freedom of navigation and must not change the regime governing it. They warned that the current situation could disrupt global supply chains, especially for energy, fertiliser and food, for a long time.

The European Council also condemned the escalating attacks by the Houthis, allies of the Islamic Republic, on Saudi Arabia and civilian ships, and called for the strengthening of the naval operation Aspides in the Red Sea. On Ukraine, it condemned the military support given to Russia by the Islamic Republic, Belarus and North Korea.

International pressure on the execution machine

The Brussels statement came in a week when UN Secretary-General António Guterres spoke of unprecedented repression in Iran and called for an immediate halt to executions. The UN has also opposed the death sentence of Najmeh Amini, a 23-year-old student. Amnesty International has recorded at least 34 executions linked to the January uprising.

The leaders of 27 European countries, in a single statement, condemned the Islamic Republic's mass executions and regional attacks.