The White House says the European Union will announce new sanctions against Iran’s Bank Melli and the country’s oil and gas sectors.
“You’re going to hear, as the (British) prime minister (Gordon Brown) indicated, out of… the EU foreign ministers’ meeting there will be an announcement of new sanctions on Iran,” White House national security advisor Stephen Hadley told reporters on Monday.
Hadley made the remarks aboard Air Force One along with President George W. Bush. They were heading to Northern Ireland on the final leg of the US Commander in Chief’s tour of Europe.
“If the Iranian regime does not change policy and accept the offer that’s extended to them it will be very clear from the EU statement this afternoon that they will place new sanctions on Iran,” he said.
“There will be financial sanctions including on Bank Melli and also looking at oil and gas sanctions that will be very much significant to the Iranian regime.”
Hadley did not say when the sanctions might be put into effect.
A British diplomat has also said that European Union foreign ministers have agreed on a new round of sanctions against Iran’s financial, oil and gas sectors.
“There is agreement among foreign ministers to bring in these sanctions … The timetable is in the next few days,” he said Monday after European Union foreign ministers met in Luxembourg.
He gave no further details of the measures to be taken against Iran, which insists its nuclear program is aimed at peaceful purposes.
Iran asserts that as a signatory to the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) it is entitled to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, and the Islamic Republic is not seeking to develop nuclear bombs as such weapons have no place in its defense doctrine.
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