The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, is gearing up to pitch fresh sanctions against Iran following a government crackdown that has reportedly killed hundreds of people since protests broke out nearly two weeks ago.

“The EU already has sweeping sanctions in place on Iran — on those responsible for human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation activities and Tehran’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine — and I am prepared to propose additional sanctions in response to the regime’s brutal repression of protestors,” Kallas told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook. 

The proposal marks the strongest response yet from an EU official to Iran’s bloody crackdown. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said over the weekend that Brussels was “monitoring” the situation, while European Parliament President Roberta Metsola wrote on X that “Europe must understand its duty and need to act.”

The comments coincide with a rising death toll. Iran Human Rights, an Oslo-based group, said Sunday that nearly 200 protesters had been killed since demonstrations broke out on Dec. 28. Other rights groups put the number at more than 500.

“The regime has a track-record of crushing protests, and we see a heavy-handed response by the security forces,” Kallas added in the written comments. “Citizens are fighting for a future of their own choosing and risking everything to be heard.”

The protests, which kicked off over spiking inflation, now want an end to the clerical rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. Iranian state-linked media have reported the use of live ammunition against demonstrators, leading to what they described as “mass casualties.”

On Friday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued a joint statement with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. “We are deeply concerned about reports of violence by Iranian security forces, and strongly condemn the killing of protestors,” the statement said.