West slaps new sanctions on Iran

The United States, Britain, France and Canada joined together Monday in slapping tough new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear activities, dpa reported.

The new sanctions follow a report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA, which presented evidence that Iran had tested designs used to make a nuclear warhead. Tehran has come under increasing international pressure since the report was released earlier this month, but has continued to deny that it is working on nuclear weapons.

"Iran has chosen the path of international isolation," US President Barack Obama said in a written statement. "As long as Iran continues down this dangerous path, the United States will continue to find ways, both in concert with our partners and through our own actions, to isolate and increase the pressure upon the Iranian regime."

The US sanctions for the first time specifically target Iran's petrochemical industry, expand existing sanctions on its oil and gas business and designate 11 additional people and companies with links to the country's nuclear programme by freezing assets and prohibiting business transactions.

Iran's multi-billion-dollar petrochemical sector is a key pillar of the economy and a major source of income for the regime.

The United States also targeted Iran's Central Bank and entire banking sector for money laundering in a bid to further isolate its financial sector from the broader international community. The move comes under provisions in anti-terrorism legislation enacted after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, but falls short of the tougher action of directly sanctioning the central bank.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the money laundering charges send a signal to banks worldwide that engaging in transactions with Iran could result in funds being used to support terrorism and its nuclear programme.

The United States stressed that its actions were not taken alone.

The British government said Monday it was cutting all financial ties with Iranian banks because of concerns over the country's nuclear programme.

The step was taken not only because of the involvement of Iranian banks in the country's nuclear weapons programme, but also due to British national security interests, George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer, said in London.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy laid out a series of proposed sanctions, including a freeze on the holdings of the Iranian central bank and a ban on oil shipments out of the country. The proposed measures were included in a letter sent to the leaders of the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, Canada and the European Union.

In light of the nuclear threat, hinted at in a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency last week, France said the situation called for sanctions on a scale not before seen.

In Canada, the government's actions included new sanctions on financial transactions with Iran and prohibited sale of all goods for the petrochemical, oil and gas industries.


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