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EU Toughens Sanctions Against Iran

VOA News
26 July 2010

The European Union on Monday adopted a sweeping package of new sanctions against Iran, targeting the country's foreign trade, banking and profitable energy sectors.

The EU sanctions are intended to curb investment and trade in Iran's lucrative oil and gas industries. Iran's shipping and air cargo companies will be blacklisted and banned from operating in EU territory.

It is the latest in a series of measures taken by the international community in an effort to halt Iran's disputed nuclear activities.

Meanwhile, the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency says it has received a letter from Iran's government about providing needed nuclear fuel for Tehran's medical research reactor.

Iran's state-run news agency IRNA says Tehran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, will reveal details of the request at a later date.

The IAEA said the request was passed on to the Vienna group, Russia France and the United States, along with Turkey and Brazil.

The United Nations Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran in June after the country did not accept a U.N.-backed plan to swap low-enriched uranium for uranium fuel rods needed for the Iranian research reactor. The deal would have reduced Iran's uranium stockpile and delayed its capability to produce nuclear weapons.

Instead, Iran wanted a nuclear fuel swap deal negotiated by Turkey and Brazil, which included the uranium exchange without demanding a halt in Iran's uranium enrichment.

The new EU measures go beyond the fourth round of sanctions imposed last month by the U.N. Security Council because of Iran's refusal to stop its uranium enrichment program.

The United States and other nations believe Iran is using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons - a charge Iran denies.

Also on Monday, Canada imposed new sanctions on trade with Iran's energy sector.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.