EU may back Iran sanctions over damming nuclear report

THE European Union may approve fresh sanctions against Iran within weeks, after a UN agency said Tehran had worked to design nuclear bombs, EU diplomats said.

Iran denies trying to build atom bombs and its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said any US or Israeli attack on its nuclear sites would be met with “iron fists”.

The United States and Israel have refused to rule out any option to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear arsenal.

Diplomats in Brussels said preliminary discussions among EU capitals on new measures had begun and plans may be ready for EU foreign ministers in Brussels to approve on December 1.

“Experts are discussing a number of options on the table but it is difficult to foresee the outcome of the debate,” one EU diplomat said. Another said he expected a formal decision to be reached on December 1.

EU sanctions would be a significant part of Western efforts to ratchet up pressure on Tehran after the UN nuclear watchdog’s report this week that laid bare a trove of intelligence suggesting Iran is seeking nuclear weapons.

Western governments would prefer UN Security Council measures against Tehran, but Russia and China are opposed.

China reiterated its view that sanctions would not work.

“We always believe that dialogue and cooperation is the right way to solve the Iranian nuclear issue. Sanctions cannot fundamentally solve the issue,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said, calling for more diplomacy.

Tehran, which says its nuclear programme is for producing electricity and other peaceful purposes, said this week it remains ready for negotiations with world powers on the issue.

Western diplomats say only sanctions against Iran’s energy sector could exert serious pressure, but such steps would also hurt a global economy hit by Europe’s debt crisis.

Tension has increased since Tuesday when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Tehran appeared to have worked on designing a bomb and may still be conducting secret research to that end.