EU, Canada add penalties against Iran

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The European Union and Canada on Monday separately adopted new sanctions against Iran, targeting the country’s foreign trade, banking and energy sectors.

The moves are the latest in a series of measures taken by the international community in an effort to halt Iran’s nuclear program. The EU’s measures, which leaders agreed to in principle in June, also blacklist Iran’s shipping and air cargo companies.

In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast denounced the EU decision.

“Moving toward confrontational measures and supporting unilateral actions and damaging the atmosphere are not considered by us to be a good use of the opportunity,” Mehmanparast said, according to the state television network’s website. Iran has denied it is working on a nuclear weapon, saying its program is intended solely for peaceful purposes such as energy-generation.

EU foreign ministers in Brussels reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to work for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue, and backed a call to Tehran to resume meaningful negotiations. The EU’s new measures will come into force in the next few weeks, after they are published in the bloc’s official gazette, officials said.

Among concerns by opponents of the deal is that Iran has continued to churn out low-enriched material and plans to continue running a pilot program of enriching to higher levels.

The U.S. and its allies argue that the sanctions are in response to Iran’s refusal to freeze all enrichment activities and not in response to Tehran’s fuel swap offer.

EU exports to Iran - mainly machinery, transport equipment and chemicals - amounted to $18.2 billion in 2008. Imports from Iran, the EU’s sixth largest energy provider, amounted to $11.3 billion, with energy being 90 percent of the total. The new European restrictions come on top of a fourth round of sanctions imposed last month by the U.N. Security Council.

In Canada, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said the country’s new measures will include a ban on any new Canadian investment in Iran’s oil and gas sector, and restrictions on exporting goods that could be used in nuclear programs.

Iranian banks also will be barred from opening branches in Canada, and Canadian banks will not be able to operate in Iran.

Also Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Tehran should stop its “irresponsible rhetoric” and take steps to end disagreements on its nuclear program. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday accused Moscow of turning against Tehran and joining the U.S. in spreading lies about its nuclear program.

Information for this article was contributed by George Jahn, Ali Akbar Dareini and Charmaine Noronha of The Associated Press.