EU agrees new sanctions against Iran

European Union leaders today adopted a new set of sanctions against Iran in a further effort to stall its disputed nuclear programme.

The restrictions, which come on top of sanctions already imposed by the UN Security Council, were approved during a summit focused primarily on economic issues, spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said.

A statement said the sanctions target dual-use items that could be used as part of a nuclear programme, and Iran’s oil and gas industry – including the “prohibition of new investment, technical assistance and transfers of technologies”.

Iran’s shipping and air cargo companies will be banned from operating in EU territory, and new visa bans and asset freezes will be imposed on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The sanctions also encompass trade insurance and financial transactions.

The measures are meant to strengthen other embargoes imposed by the EU in response to past UN Security Council resolutions. Last week, the council adopted its own sanctions after Tehran rebuffed a plan to suspend uranium enrichment and swap its stockpiles of low-enriched uranium for fuel rods.

They are also in line with similar measures adopted by the US administration, which imposed penalties on Wednesday against additional individuals and institutions it says are helping Iran develop its nuclear and missile programmes and evade international sanctions.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said that Europe needs to play a full role in the international effort to deal with Iran’s nuclear programme.

This means “making sure that we have a strong package of sanctions against Iran”, he said. “We believe it is incredibly important.”

The new EU sanctions will be passed on to government technical experts to work out the specifics of which companies and products would be targeted, and how. This could be a tricky procedure, given the different economic interests of EU countries involved.

Officials predicted the procedure would last a month before the final list is endorsed by EU foreign ministers at their next meeting at the end of July.

The UN is seeking to disrupt the money flow to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Its new sanctions call for an asset freeze on 40 additional companies and organisations involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities.

The US, Israel and the EU fear that Iran will continue to upgrade its uranium enrichment programme until it can produce a nuclear weapon. Iran says it seeks to develop fuel only for its energy and research reactors, and that it has the right to enrich uranium under the international non-proliferation treaty.

Tehran has dismissed the impact of sanctions, vowing to expand its atomic research.

The country’s defence minister said the new sanctions would not affect Iran’s armed forces because the country is militarily self-sufficient.

“We are not seeking arms. We have the capability to export,” General Ahmad Vahidi was quoted as saying on the website of Iran’s state TV.

Iran has been pursuing self-sufficiency in military production since 1992.

The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, has said the door remains open for negotiations with Tehran.

She has invited the country’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, to discuss the issue. EU officials said Iran is expected to accept the invitation and that talks could resume later this summer.