Published: January 23, 2012

AJC Praises EU Actions on Iran Central Bank, Oil

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NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC praised the European Union for adopting today new sanctions that will end oil imports from Iran and sanction the Iranian Central Bank.

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The oil embargo will be implemented in phases, with an immediate stop to new contracts for crude oil and petroleum products, while existing contracts will be allowed to run until July.

"The international message to the Iranian regime to stop its nuclear-weapons program could not be clearer," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "The 27-nation European Union today has taken bold new steps, joining with the U.S. and its own member country Great Britain, in imposing crippling sanctions against Iran's key banking and energy sectors."

The EU move comes ahead of a planned visit to Iran next week of an International Atomic Energy Agency delegation. This follows the devastating November report of the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog agency, which concluded that Iran has been working towards developing a nuclear weapon.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee