Europe to Impose New Sanctions on Iran

I don't believe imposing sanctions will convince the mullahs in Tehran to stop their nuclear weapons program. One just has to look at North Korea to see that completely isolating a country will not prevent it from producing nukes. And Iran is by no means isolated. They receive plenty of nuclear expertise from the Russians, the Chinese eagerly buy Iran's oil. Incidently, both Russia and China have been dragging their feet in the UN about Iran's nuclear program.Voice of America

The European Union imposed new trade sanctions against Iran Friday, as Tehran continues to hold out against international demands that it freeze its nuclear enrichment program. Lisa Bryant has more for VOA from Paris.

In a statement published Friday by the bloc's current president France, the European Union announced it had begun to apply new measures against Tehran, including closely scrutinizing financial groups doing business with Iranian banks, and holding back on loans for companies trading with Iran. The EU's 27 members will also inspect airplanes and ships traveling to and from Iran to insure they are not carrying illegal materials.

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In recent remarks to reporters in Brussels, the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana laid out the stakes for each side.

"For us, to refrain from any further sanctions in the [UN] Security Council. For them, to refrain from any other nuclear activity...That is what we are asking - which we call freeze for freeze," said Solana. "It's something very sensible to engage in the process of negotiation. It's as simple as that."