EU to hit Iran with 'toughest ever' sanctions, diplomats say
Proposed EU sanctions are understood to go further than current UN sanctions, calling for a ban on 'dual-use' goods which can be used for both military and civilian purposes.
By DPAEuropean Union foreign ministers are set to hit Iran with the toughest sanctions they have ever imposed on it when they meet in Brussels on Monday, diplomatic sources said.
A month ago, the United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions on Iran to try and force the Islamic republic to stop enriching uranium. But the EU and United States decided that those sanctions were not enough.
EU foreign ministers at their regular monthly meeting are therefore set to agree the "toughest ever" sanctions on Iran, targeting the energy and financial sectors and cracking down on people and companies linked to the government, diplomats said.
The UN sanctions had called on UN members to ban the sale of goods used in nuclear production and missile development to Iran, allowing them to stop and search Iran-bound ships if they have "reasonable grounds" to suspect that they are breaking the embargo.
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UN ambassadors before the Security Council's vote on a new sanctions resolution against Iran on Wednesday, June 9, 2010. |
| Photo by: AP |
The proposed EU sanctions are understood to go several steps further, calling for a ban on "dual-use" goods which can be used for both military and civilian purposes.
The EU is also expected to ban the sale of equipment and transfers of technology to Iran's oil and gas companies. EU diplomats said that the ban will make it much harder for Iran to modernize and upgrade its energy sector, something which it is keen to do, since EU and U.S. companies are at the forefront in developing energy technology.
And the EU is also set to crack down on Iran's banking sector, imposing tighter surveillance and banning new links with EU banks, and on its transport sector, potentially banning cargo flights from Iran into Europe.
Finally, the bloc is also expected to extend the list of Iranian citizens and companies whose assets should be frozen.
The aim of the exercise is to pressurize the government in Tehran into ceasing uranium enrichment, in line with UN demands. EU diplomats stressed that the goal of the sanctions regime was to encourage Iran to resume talks on the nuclear issue.
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Yeah all those sanctions for over 40 years sure helped oust Castro and keep Kim from getting the bomb.. How stupid!
China and East Asian others must be looking forward to enhanced sanctions; the more estranged EU and Iran become, the more they get a monopoly on Iran’s fossil fuels and strategic minerals.
Sell Shell and Repsol and buy china petro shares Why? Dutch Shell and spanish Repsol are already due to the US sanctions urged to leave the huge South Pars field and the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corp is moving in. Google "Pars field and china" and "Pars field and shell" Comment number 1 seems to be true.
...and, by the way, if they are allowed to stop and search Iran-bound ships if they have "reasonable grounds" to suspect that they are breaking the embargo, maybe we are also allowed to stop ships to Gaza from Lebanon as they may "reasonably" carry Iranian rockets....can't they?
"EU diplomats stressed that the goal of the sanctions regime was to encourage Iran to resume talks on the nuclear issue." ...wait, didn't Brazil and Turkey negotiate to have Iran accept the original proposal and sanctions were STILL imposed? I thought Iran already agreed to ship out its enriched uranium , right?
Huge debt, high unemployment, weak economy and Europe obeys the US who has no business with Iran. Siemens, Total, BP, Eni, Repsol etc. etc. etc.are going to suffer a lot. Good news for Russia and China, they will jump in the opening ! It looks like sanctions are against Europe. Well done America ! That could save the dollar for a while. USA debt 14 trillions $.
Europe is America's poodle and in turn America is Israel's poodle...
Else the government and millitary industries have already solved their problems. Iran anounced it will do all its energy trade in other currencies than $ and Eeuro to depreciate them. At to it all the valuable time that EU politicians should spend to regulate this sanction. Really it does worth that Europe and US spend so much energy and time on? when they are in tight competition with emerging economies!!
These advantures are not going to benefit any one. Iranian agressive government does not care about its people suffering and would inflict not less damage to EU and US. Today Iranian government announced, for revanging the sanction, they are going to remove Euro and Dollar in their oil trades and convert to chinese currency. It would significantly affect the value of Euro and Dollar, because not only Iran herself trades oil in a value as big as US- bailout bill!!!! in four years, but also Iran opens a new strategy to other oil- rich countries to convert their deposits . In this way they degrade Euro and Dollar so that they receive more Euros and dollars for less amount of oil.
at a much faster pace than the sanctions are, (according to the IMF, they doubled in 2009 at a time when globally there was a shirinkage), how effective this move by the EU will be is questionable.
Europa and USA and precipitating their own demise. Quite laughable.