12 April 2018 - 16:38

EU Extends Anti-Iran Sanctions for One Year

The Council of European Union has extended sanctions against Iran until the end of April 2019.
News ID : 84456
تحریم

The Council of European Union said the sanctions include a travel ban and an asset freeze against 82 people and one entity and a ban on exports to Iran of equipment which are used by Iran's police and of equipment for monitoring telecommunications. These sanctions were first imposed by the European Union in 2011.



The bloc prepared for a clash over whether to impose a new set of penalties in the hope of safeguarding a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump has been a fierce critic of the 2015 nuclear accord between world powers and Iran. He has given a May 12 deadline to fix it, threatening otherwise not to extend U.S. sanctions relief on Iran related to the agreement.



The EU is eager to safeguard the pact, under which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear ambitions for at least a decade, but divided over how to achieve that.



France has pushed for new sanctions over Iran’s missile programme. But Italy leads the sceptic camp, fearing any such move would upset Tehran and European firms’ chances of winning lucrative contracts there as the country opens up after decades of international isolation.



Rome also says there is no guarantee that new punitive measures from the EU would ensure Trump does not walk away from the nuclear accord anyway.


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