SHAHEEN SUPPORTS DECISION BY EUROPEAN UNION TO BROADEN SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN

(Washington, DC) - United States Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) today commended European Union (EU) governments for announcing expanded sanctions against the Iranian government for its continued illicit pursuit of a nuclear weapons program. The new sanctions target the Iranian regime’s sources of funding for its nuclear program and include a phased embargo of Iranian crude oil imports into the European Union.

“I applaud the European Union’s decision to join with the United States in expanding sanctions against Iran,” said Senator Shaheen, the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations European Affairs Subcommittee. “It is critical that the United States and Europe work together to keep the pressure on Iran and its nuclear ambitions. Europe and the United States are targeting the Iranian regime where it hurts – in the financial and energy sectors crucial to its nuclear program. I strongly urge Russia and China to join this international effort and to undertake similar measures.”

In December, Senator Shaheen sent a letter to EU High Representative Baroness Catherine Ashton that called on European leaders to impose more comprehensive sanctions on Iran. She also joined her Senate colleagues in a unanimous vote to amend the National Defense Authorization Act to tighten sanctions on Iran. The measure, signed into law as part of the NDAA at the end of last year, expanded the list of sanctioned entities and individuals and impedes foreign trade with Iran’s central bank, a major facilitator of Iran’s illicit activities.