Mahsa Amini: European states urge nationals to leave Iran amid crackdown on protesters

 The Dutch government on Friday urged all Dutch nationals to leave Iran and advised against all travel to the country, Dutch news agency ANP quoted Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra as saying. 

France also urged its nationals to leave Iran as soon as possible, saying they were exposed to the risk of arbitrary detentions. 

The call to leave follows weeks of protests in Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody last month. 

Amini was visiting Tehran with her brother when she was detained by the so-called morality police for allegedly wearing her clothing incorrectly. She died just days after her arrest. Eyewitnesses at the police station and her family say the 22-year-old was beaten. 

Protests in Iran quickly gained momentum, with initial demands for accountability over Amini's death evolving into wider anti-government demonstrations. 

Canada on Friday said it would ban the top leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from entering the country and promised more targeted sanctions over the treatment of women in Iran and the downing of a civilian airliner in 2020.