EC chief slams new US sanctions on Iran

He made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.

On the eve of the new round of nuclear talks between Iran and G5+1, imposition of new anti-Iran sanctions by the US will have negative impacts, Rafsanjani added.

He underscored that Iran-G5+1 nuclear talks have opened a new chapter in Iran-West political relations.

Ayatollah Rafsanjani urged the worldˈs intellectuals as well as EU moderate countries to remind Washington of the negative consequences of such policies.

The Finnish minister, for his part, assured that if Iran and G5+1 reach an agreement, all EU countries, Finland in particular, would witness vast developments in their relations with Tehran.

The Finnish minister arrived in Tehran on Saturday evening. He met and conferred with President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif on Sunday.

The US Treasury Department said on Friday that the sanctions have targeted shipping firms, oil companies, airlines and six Iranian banks.

Last November, Iran and the world powers sealed a six-month Joint Plan of Action to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over its peaceful nuclear program.

In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the sextet of world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran and continue talks with the country to settle all problems between the two sides.

Due to differences over some fundamental issues, the two sides agreed to extend the Joint Plan of Action by November 24.
/SR