TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed fresh EU sanctions against Tehran, arguing that the bloc has only updated its list of entities and individuals subject to its previous penalties.
"The European Union has not passed any new sanctions against Iran, either now or in the recent months, nor during the whole past three years,” ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Monday.
"The EU has only revised and updated the list of individuals and organizations targeted by old sanctions under a periodic process which occurs every few months,” he added.
Qassemi said European officials, from EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to president of the European Council Donald Tusk and president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker as well as other leaders have voiced strong support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Last week, the EU renewed its list of 23 people and 14 entities targeted by the bloc’s nuclear proliferation and ballistic missile sanctions against Iran.
The decision coincided with Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif’s tour of Germany, Italy and France, raising a lot of question marks among the Iranians about whether the Europeans are genuinely committed to their obligations under the nuclear accord.