EU to Discuss New Anti-Tehran Sanctions This Week: French FM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the European Union will discuss this week whether it needs to impose new sanctions on Iran following its recent ballistic missile tests.
"We have to compare the American system and European system and to see if there are new sanctions to take or not, and this exercise will be implemented this week," Fabius told Reuters in an interview during a visit to Abu Dhabi on Monday.
The remarks by the French minister came a day after the United States announced such measures.
On Sunday, Washington imposed sanctions on 11 companies and individuals for supplying Iran's ballistic missile program.
The move by the White House came hours after termination of anti-Tehran sanctions following confirmations from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Tehran had made good on its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement finalized by Iran and six world powers in July 2015.
Shortly after the IAEA announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini announced in a joint statement that the implementation of the nuclear deal has officially been started.
Earlier in January, the White House postponed the sanctions planned by the Treasury Department against individuals in Iran, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates following Iran’s missile testing in October and November.
Iran has repeatedly announced that test of missiles is an issue relating to defense of its territorial integrity and has nothing to do with the JCPOA.
Iran has also underscored frequently that its military might poses no threat to other countries and that the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine is entirely based on deterrence.
