EU ministers in political agreement on expanding sanctions on Iran
European Union foreign ministers have reached a political agreement on expanding sanctions on Iran, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
Moves to expand sanctions on Iran follow that country’s attacks on Israel.
“We have reached a political agreement in order to enlarge and expand the existing drones regime to impose sanctions to Iran in order to cover missiles and their potential transfers to Russia,” Borrell said in a statement after EU ministers met on April 22.
Borrell said that this includes missile production, an expansion of the geographical area of this framework to cover drone and missile deliveries not only to Russia but to the whole region of the Middle East and the Red Sea; and thirdly to expand the list of prohibited drone components.
EU foreign ministers discussed the situation in the Middle East, with particular attention to the ever-worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza strip and the risk of escalation in the wider region, a statement by the Council of the EU said.
Concerning the latter, the Council of the EU once more stressed that everyone in the region needs to exercise restraint and take steps to de-escalate.
Concerning Gaza, Borrell said that there was no progress on release of hostages, no prospect of a ceasefire, nor real easing of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.
He said that there would be no lasting stability in the region as long as the war in Gaza continues.
EU ministers agreed to invite once more the Israeli Foreign Minister to a future meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, as well as the new Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, the statement by the Council of the EU said.
Please support The Sofia Globe by signing up to become a subscriber to our page on Patreon:
