The European Union confirmed Monday that a ban on oil imports from Iran will go ahead as planned on July 1 due to the lack of progress in talks on Tehran's contested nuclear drive. "The latest package of EU sanctions against Iran will apply as earlier decided," EU foreign ministers said in a statement.
Confirmation the embargo will be enforced comes days after talks flopped in Moscow between Iran and the P5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany). It was the latest of three high-level meetings in three months to fail to make headway. "We've confirmed the details of the sanctions being imposed on Iran," said British Foreign Secretary William Hague.
"It is important that the Iranian leaders understand the resolve of the international community on this and that we will go on intensifying the economic pressure." The West suspects Iran of seeking to make nuclear weapons under the guise of an energy programme and wants it to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent, which brings it dangerously close to levels needed to make a nuclear bomb. Monday's statement confirmed a January 23 agreement by the 27-nation bloc to immediately ban new oil imports from Iran and phase out existing contracts by July 1.