http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080623.wiran0623/BNStory/International/homeEU to freeze assets of Iran's biggest bank
Associated Press
June 23, 2008 at 12:13 PM EDT
BRUSSELS — The European Union has approved new sanctions against Iran, including freezing the assets of it biggest bank.
The Bank of Melli is suspected of providing services to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. It was blacklisted by the United States last year.
Meanwhile, the EU says it plans to announce additional financial and travel sanctions Tuesday on several Iranian companies and “senior experts” linked to Tehran's nuclear program.
The 27-country bloc is also studying sanctions against Iran's oil and gas sector, but diplomats say any such moves are at least months away.
Monday's sanctions were formally adopted without debate at the beginning of EU talks in Luxembourg.
They are aimed at forcing Iran to give up its uranium enrichment program, which many western countries say they fear could be used to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its enrichment technology is for peaceful purposes only.
In Tehran, independent analyst Saeed Laylaz said the freezing of Bank Melli's assets would lead to the Iranian economy becoming more isolated and more dependent on Chinese products.
But he suggested President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad might stand to benefit.
Targeting Iran “drives inflation up,” Mr. Laylaz said, “but it helps Ahmadinejad's government hide its failures behind the sanction.”
