Tehran is on 'wrong side of history': German FM

"Anyone who beats up women and girls in the streets, abducts people who want nothing more than to live freely, arbitrarily arrests them, sentences them to death, is on the wrong side of history," Baerbock told Bild am Sonntag newspaper, reported dpa.

She said the European Union would impose entry bans on those responsible for suppressing protests and freeze their assets in the bloc.

Iran has been swept by protests for weeks following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police in Tehran for violating the country's strict dress regulations for women.

It is not clear what caused Amini's death. While critics believe police brutality is to blame, the authorities insist that she died of heart failure.

Since Amini's death there have been nationwide and international protests against Iran's leadership and specifically the headscarf mandate.

The protests are gaining intensity as they enter their fourth week, and observers are seeing growing civil disobedience.

The calls of the people on the streets of Iran for self-determination are "deafening," Baerbock said.

The security forces have responded with a deadly crackdown, with dozens said to have been killed and many more injured.