EU set to ban Iran oil imports

By Neal Wallace

Foreign ministers at the European Union (EU) are expected to announce a phased ban on the purchase of oil from Iran at a meeting in Brussels today (January 23rd).

If the sanctions come in it will be the latest measure to be introduced by the EU to punish Iran for its nuclear programme. According to official figures, the body buys around 20 per cent of Iran's oil exports.

Tehran denies that it is currently trying to develop nuclear weapons, claiming that talks and not a ban are the way to solve the disputes.

UK foreign secretary William Hague said that the measures were an important way of increasing "the peaceful legitimate pressure on the Iranian government to enter into meaningful negotiations with the international community".

Iran has a number of apparently key nuclear sites, including a heavy water facility near the town of Arak, satellite images of which were published by the Institute for Science and International Security in December 2002.