THE WALL STREET JOURNAL – European Union leaders are set to authorize a list of sectors for sanctions on Iran that goes further than those adopted in a United Nations Security Council resolution last week.
The proposed EU sanctions, which are aimed at pressuring Tehran to curb its nuclear program, include curbing investment and technology transfers in Iran's oil and gas industry, and also target aspects of Iran's finance, insurance, trade, banking and transport sectors.
The expected agreement over the new measures, including by governments such as Germany and Italy that have been important trading partners with Iran, indicates growing concern across Europe over what Western governments say is Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. Tehran insists the program is for peaceful purposes.
According to European officials, the EU leaders will sign off Thursday on a five- or six-paragraph declaration that targets "key sectors of the gas and oil industry," barring new investment, technical assistance and technology transfers.
This month's U.N. resolution, the fourth mandating sanctions against Iran since 2006, was watered down to ensure the agreement of Russia and China, and other than one sanctioned oil-services company it doesn't specifically target Iran's energy sector.
EU leaders will also seek curbs on so-called dual-use goods—those with military and civilian applications. Officials, some of whom expressed surprise at the extent of the likely agreement, said the exact shape of the further EU sanctions could be clear as soon as next month, following negotiations among government experts and a final agreement by foreign ministers at their next meeting.
Chief among the likely specific targets would be "refining, liquefaction and liquefied natural gas technologies," one official said. Iran suffers a shortage of refining capacity that means it must import large quantities of gasoline.
The U.S. has also said it will introduce sanctions that go beyond those in the U.N. resolution, which included bans on selling some conventional weapons to Iran and stepped-up inspections of cargo going into and out of the country.
Opposition within Europe to sanctions has traditionally come from countries such as Germany and Italy that have had important trading relations with Iran. A smaller group of countries, such as Sweden, has opposed sanctions as a matter of principle, believing that other methods should be used to encourage negotiations.
Officials said the aim of the sanctions was to encourage Iran to negotiate over its program. To emphasize this, Baroness Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, has written to Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, expressing a willingness to meet for serious negotiations over the nuclear issue.
Because of Europe's continuing trade links with Iran, its extended sanctions on Iran often have more practical significance than those of the U.S., whose commercial relations with the country are limited.
U.S. officials have said their more-aggressive unilateral measures will likely target the businesses of Iran's elite military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
They have also said that Washington could press companies and countries to act against a range of Iranian finance, insurance and reinsurance companies for their alleged role in aiding Tehran's nuclear and missile programs.
By STEPHEN FIDLER
