Sanctions against Iran

Iran on July 4 condemned the "illegal interception" of one of its oil tankers in Gibraltar where authorities said they suspected it was carrying crude to Syria in violation of EU sanctions.    

US President Donald Trump is considering stricter sanctions against Turkey if Ankara insists on plans to purchase a Russian missile defense system, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

Citing people familiar with the issue, Bloomberg said that Washington is weighing three "sanctions packages," the severest of which "would all but cripple the already troubled Turkish economy."

The United States has allowed Iraq to import Iranian gas for its power grid for another three months by extending a waiver to U.S. sanctions for Baghdad, two government sources said on June 15.

So far, the EU has done nothing to save the 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran said, according to BTA.

Iran said on June 9 Europe was in no position to criticize Tehran for its military capabilities and it called on European leaders to normalize trade ties with the Islamic Republic despite U.S. sanctions, or face consequences.

Additional sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States show that Washington's offer of talks is not genuine, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on June 8.

Iran called U.S. sanctions "economic war" on June 3, and said there could be no talks with the United States until sanctions are lifted, a day after Washington suggested it could hold talks without pre-conditions if Iran changed its behaviour.

Turkey's defense minister said it was preparing for potential U.S. sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, even while he said there was some improvement in talks with the United States over buying F-35 fighter jets.

U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports do not serve peace in the region, a spokesman for Turkey's ruling AKP said on May 10.

Iran will no longer respect limits it agreed on its enriched uranium and heavy water stocks under a 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, officials said on Wednesday,  FocusNews reported.