AFP reports that Britain, France and Germany have called for new EU sanctions against Iran in connection with its nuclear program.
In the AFP report published today, September 24, the foreign ministers of the three European countries are said to have written a letter to Catherine Ashton, the head of EU foreign policy, to demand harsher sanctions on Iran.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is currently in New York for the annual general meeting of the United Nations. In his speech last year, he defended Iran’s right to its nuclear program and stressed that all its nuclear activities are peaceful.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle stressed last week that Germany supports a diplomatic solution to the nuclear disputes with Iran but he remarked that negotiations with Iran have so far yielded no results.
He added that all options must be explored in order to avoid a military conflict between Iran and Israel.
Westerwelle maintained that Germany will not accept the development of nuclear weapons in Iran because it could result in an arms race in the Middle East.
Iran has consistently rejected allegations that it has any military ambitions in its nuclear program.
EU sanctions have already been instrumental in destabilizing the Iranian economy, as the decline in Iran’s ability to sell its petroleum abroad has led to a steep fall in its national currency, further exacerbating the country’s skyrocketing inflation.
