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U.S. seeks to sanction Iran's petrochemical sector

19 November 2011 [12:15] - TODAY.AZ
The United States plans to sanction Iran's petrochemical industry, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, seeking to raise pressure on Tehran after fresh allegations it may be pursuing nuclear weapons, Reuters reported.

The sources said Washington wanted to send a strong signal after the U.N. nuclear watchdog issued a Nov. 8 report saying that Iran appeared to have worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be secretly carrying out related research.

The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has denied the charges, saying its nuclear program is aimed at generating electricity and producing isotopes to treat medical patients.

The United Nations has imposed four rounds of Security Council sanctions over Tehran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a technology that can be used to produce nuclear fuel or materials for an atomic bomb.

Resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council in 2010, as well as additional unilateral sanctions approved by the U.S. Congress and the foreign ministers of all EU countries were primarily directed against the banking, financial and energy sectors of Iran.

Restrictions imposed by the EU include the ban on the sale of equipment, technologies and services to Iran's energy sector which is a major source of revenue for the Iranian regime; the same measure refers to the refining industry. New investments in Iran's energy sector have also been also prohibited as a whole.


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URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/98467.html

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