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EU to slap sanctions on 200 Iranian firms, people

22 November 2011, 16:02 CET
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(BRUSSELS) - The European Union is eyeing sanctions on some 200 Iranian firms and individuals as Western nations tighten the screws on Tehran over its contested nuclear programme, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.

"More than 200 names are to be added to a list" of Iranians already targeted by a visa ban and businesses facing an asset freeze which would be announced by EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on December 1, the sources said.

One EU diplomat said members of the 27-nation bloc were also debating whether to also target "new areas and industry sectors", which could include oil, but that no decision had been taken as yet.

One target could be the Tejarat Bank, one of the remaining channels of payment in Europe, which has subsidiaries in Britain, Germany and France as wekk as in China, the Emirated and Tajikistan.

Asked whether EU nations were split over such options, the source said "they are not divided over sanctions on entities and individuals."

The discussions take place as the United States, Britain and Canada this week slapped new sanctions on Iran because of a report by the UN atomic energy watchdog strongly suggesting Tehran was researching nuclear weapons.

The sanctions pressure Iran's financial sector, with the United States and Britain invoking anti-terrorist laws to target Iran's central bank and other financial institutions.

Canada is halting "virtually all transactions" with the Islamic republic while France has said it too was "in favour of new unprecedented sanctions" and called for an embargo against Iran's most vital export: oil.

National Iranian Oil Company chief Ahmad Qalebani, also a deputy oil minister, said Iran was "in no way worried about European countries not buying its oil" as in the event of a freeze on Iranian crude sales "Iran will sell its oil to other clients."

The EU has already frozen the assets of hundreds of Iranian firms and in July last year adopted measures aimed at preventing new investment, technical assistance and technology transfers, particularly those pertaining to producing and refining gas.


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