Swiss toughen sanctions against Iran
The Swiss government has again toughened sanctions against Iran, adding 116 new names and entities to the list of those subject to the measures.
The move came as the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), met in Vienna on Thursday and Friday to formulate a response to the agency’s most recent report which was critical of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Included in the new Swiss sanctions are Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi and four current and former members of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran.
In total, 250 people and entities are now subject to Swiss sanctions against Iran which were increased in January to bring it in line with major trading partners and the United Nations.
The measures ban the export to Iran of military, nuclear or other equipment that could be used for internal repression, as well as the freezing of assets belong to people or entities included on the list.
The IAEA board of governors on Friday released a text of a resolution expressing “a deep and growing concern about the unresolved issues related to the Iranian [nuclear] programme, including those which must be clarified to exclude the existence of possible military dimensions”.
However the resolution did not fix a deadline for Iran to clarify the points of concern.
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