Britain’s call for new EU sanctions on Iran is irresponsible: Iranian official

TEHRAN,Sept.10(MNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Saturday that Britain’s call on the European Union to impose new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program is “irresponsible”. Mehmanparast made the remarks in response to British Foreign Secretary William Hague who told reporters before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Cyprus, “It is necessary to increase pressure on Iran, to intensify sanctions, to add further to EU sanctions that are already enforced.” The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman emphasized that Iran’s nuclear activities are peaceful and are being carried out under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He also mentioned the fact that the final statement of the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, which was adopted unanimously on August 31, had expressed support for Iran’s nuclear program. The NAM summit was held in Tehran from August 26 to 31. Elsewhere in his remarks, Mehmanparast said that the pressure-and-dialogue approach will get nowhere, in an indirect reference to negotiations between Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) over the country’s nuclear program. The latest round of high-level talks between Iran and the six major powers was held in Moscow on June 18 and 19. After the Moscow talks, both sides agreed to hold expert talks. And the most recent round of expert-level negotiations was held in Istanbul on July 24. No decision has yet been made on the next round of talks. According to Reuters, France and Germany also called on their EU partners on Friday to impose new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle claimed that Tehran’s failure to meet international demands to scale back its nuclear work meant the EU should discuss new sanctions within weeks. “Sanctions are necessary… I can’t see there is really a constructive will on the Iranian side for substantial talks,” Westerwelle told Reuters on the sidelines of the EU foreign ministerial meeting in Cyprus. He also called the inconclusive outcome of three rounds of negotiations this year between Iran and the six major powers “disappointing”. In addition, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that diplomacy was at a standstill, Reuters reported. “We will discuss in the next days the details of strengthening sanctions,” he told reporters in Cyprus. Fabius suggested that new measures could target the finance, trade, and oil sectors, but gave no other details. In its latest round of sanctions, the EU imposed an oil embargo on Iran and agreed to a freeze on the assets of the Central Bank of Iran, which came into effect on July 1.