France urges sanctions against Iran as tensions escalate

By
Leon Watson

Last updated at 3:29 PM on 3rd January 2012

France today urged Europe to follow the U.S. lead and agree new sanctions on Iran as tension with Tehran escalates.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said it was time to impose an embargo on oil exports and freeze Iranian central bank assets.

Speaking ahead of a January 30 EU foreign ministers’ meeting, he called for moves along the lines President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed in November.

Getting tough: French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said it was time to impose an embargo on oil exports and freeze Iranian central bank assets

Getting tough: French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said it was time to impose an embargo on oil exports and freeze Iranian central bank assets

‘France… wants sanctions toughened and the president (Sarkozy) has made two concrete proposals on that front – the first being the freezing of Iranian central bank assets, a tough measure, and the second an embargo on Iranian oil exports,’ Mr Juppe told itele, a French news TV channel.

Washington is already in the process of imposing such sanctions, he said.

‘We want the Europeans to take a similar step by January 30 to show our determination,’ he said.

Iran, which denies Western accusations that it is trying to build atomic bombs, said yesterday that it had test fired two long-range missiles, flexing its military muscle in the face of mounting Western pressure over its nuclear programme.

It made the announcement at the climax of 10 days of naval exercises in the Gulf, during which Tehran warned it could shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 per cent of the world’s traded oil is shipped, if sanctions were imposed on its crude exports.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, centre, visits the Natanz Uranium Enrichment Facility some 200 miles south of the capital, Tehran, Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, centre, visits the Natanz Uranium Enrichment Facility some 200 miles south of the capital, Tehran, Iran

The Karrar, or striker in Farsi, is Iran's first domestically-built, long-range, unmanned bomber aircraft. It was unveiled last year at an undisclosed location

The Karrar, or striker in Farsi, is Iran’s first domestically-built, long-range, unmanned bomber aircraft. It was unveiled last year at an undisclosed location

U.S. President Barack Obama signed new sanctions against Iran into law on Saturday.

‘These will be European and American sanctions as we have the capacity to act in this domain,’ Mr Juppe said.

If enforced strictly, the sanctions could make it nearly impossible for most refiners to buy crude from Iran, the world’s fourth biggest producer.

The United Nations Security Council has already imposed four rounds of global sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear activities.

Iran has so far shown no willingness to change its nuclear course but Iranian media reported on Saturday that nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili would write to the EU foreign policy chief to say Tehran was ready for fresh talks on its nuclear programme.

Talks between Iran and six world powers – the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – are in stalemate.

French, British and U.S. pressure on Tehran was ramped up after the International Atomic Energy Agency voiced new concerns in late November about Iran’s nuclear programme.

The reluctance of Moscow and Beijing to further punish Iran has obliged Western states to act on their own, outside the United Nations framework.

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