EU continues sanction pressure on Iran: news sanctions are confirmed

As the world media write Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union (EU) agreed on Friday to add 17 Iranians to its sanctions list for human rights abuses, and also signed off on a legal text that details how they will implement an oil embargo on Iran.

According to marketwatch.com the human rights sanctions targets will be subject to a travel ban and asset freeze. The 17 new people take to 78 the total number of Iranians targeted for abuses. Ministers also extended by a year the rights sanctions so they are now valid until April 13, 2013.

The discussion over sanctions took place in Brussels. MFAs also agreed a ban on the export of equipment and software to Iran that can be used to monitor or intercept telecommunications.

The list of people to be targeted will be published today in the EU’s official journal.

The foreign ministers also signed off on the legal text which will enforce a major broadening of sanctions on Iran. The EU agreed these in January in reaction to Tehran‘s nuclear program.

Among these measures was a ban on Iranian exports of crude oil, sanctions on its central bank and a ban on trade in gold.

“The EU remains deeply concerned by the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran,” said EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton in her statement.

The Western forces try to make Iran deny the nuclear enrichment by the sanctions but Iran announces that the nuclear program is just for the peace civilian needs and it will be continued.