Australia widens Iran sanctions

PRESS TV - Australia has expanded its sanctions on Iran by imposing further restriction on business with the Islamic Republic's petroleum and financial sectors.

Australia's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said in a Tuesday statement that the new measures will target people and companies who are allegedly involved in Iran's nuclear program, AFP reported.

"The measures will also further restrict business with Iran's petroleum and financial sectors," said Rudd.

The new anti-Iran measures by Australia follow sanctions imposed on Iran last year, which restricted Australian business dealings with Iran's oil and gas sector. 

Australia's move comes after the United States, Britain and Canada imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors on November 21, following the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tehran's nuclear program. 

The IAEA report on Iran, released on November 8, was dismissed by the country as "unbalanced, unprofessional and prepared with political motivations and under political pressure by mostly the United States.” 

Meanwhile, foreign ministers of the European Union imposed sanctions against 37 Iranian individuals and 143 companies or organizations on December 1 after failing to impose an embargo on the country's oil sector. 

Iranian officials have repeatedly described the sanctions against the Islamic Republic as pointless and ineffective. 

Iran insists that such efforts are aimed at pressing Tehran into submission to the will of the Israeli-allied Western powers.