Iran Welcomes EU's Call for Nullification of US Sanctions ActIran on Tuesday welcomed European Union's objection of the United States' sanctions against Iran and Libya.Such a stance by the EU shows its realistic attitude toward the global issues, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said, referring to a recent statement issued by EU foreign ministers on opposing U.S. unilateral sanctions against other countries. Asefi, cited by the official IRNA news agency, said the sanctions are against the international trade agreements and regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and violate international laws and sovereignty of states. The EU, which has been pushing for abolishing the controversial Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) approved by the U.S. Congress in 1996, has voiced its right to invest in Iran and Libya beyond the act's jurisdiction. In a monthly meeting in Brussels, EU foreign ministers made a strongly worded appeal to the U.S. against extending the ILSA, warning that such an act would harm trans-Atlantic ties. According to the sanctions regime, which will expire in August and set to be renewed, any foreign firms having a large energy investment in Iran and Libya will be punished by the U.S.. But recent developments have shown that European and Asian energy companies have turned a deaf ear to the sanctions. Italy's Eni group has inked a multi-million-dollar deal with Iran in a bid to clinch its own shares in Iran's Darkhuwain oil field. Such a move has been followed by Japan, which has secured its favorable position in developing Iran's giant Azadegan oil field with an estimated reserve of 26 billion to 40 billion barrels. Iran and the U.S. severed diplomatic relations in 1980 after the seizure, by some Muslim students, of the U.S. embassy in Tehran following the 1979 Iran's Islamic Revolution. The U.S. has imposed economic sanctions against Iran since 1980. A powerful pro-Israeli lobby is pressing for another full five- year extension of the controversial ILSA. But the U.S. administration is in favor of a two-year extension. |
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