BICOM

Foreign Secretary William Hague has expressed his confidence that the European Union will agree to impose new sanctions banning the purchase of Iranian oil at a foreign ministers’ meeting next week. Hague told Sky News, “I am confident we will adopt very significant additional measures against Iran at the European Foreign Affairs Council a week tomorrow, on the 23rd, covering the oil sector and possibly other sectors as well.” He added that, “we must not be put off further sanctions by bluster or statements from Iran. This is an increasingly dangerous situation that Iran is developing a military nuclear programme.”

The Foreign Secretary also repeated long-standing government policy that did not rule out military action. Hague’s German and French counterparts sent the same message in separate interviews, insisting that the Iranian regime was continuing its work on nuclear weapons and additionally threatening to block dealings with its Central Bank.

EU states have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian oil over Tehran’s nuclear programme, and are working on details of how the ban will be implemented before a 23 January foreign ministers’ meeting.

The ratcheting up of pressure on Iran by the EU’s foreign ministers come as Saudi Arabia assured international markets that it could increase output to make up shortfalls. Saudi oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, said in an interview over the weekend that the country was “prepared to meet the increase in global demand as a result of any circumstances”.