EU imposes new sanctions on Iran

BRUSSELS, May 23 (AFP): The EU tightened its sanctions on Iran on Monday, adding more than 100 firms to a blacklist of companies hit by an assets freeze over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme, diplomats said. EU foreign ministers adopted the new restrictive measures amid efforts to jumpstart international talks aimed at convincing Iran to halt its nuclear activities. An EU statement said the ministers decided "to strengthen the restrictive measures imposed on Iran owing to concerns about its nuclear programme." The European-Iranian Trade Bank (EIH), a German-based Iranian-owned bank, is among the companies added to the list, along with five individuals who will face an assets freeze and EU travel ban, a diplomat said. An official in Berlin told AFP last week that "evidence pointing to the EIH's involvement in (nuclear) proliferation has multiplied and become tangible." The United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia have engaged in on-and-off talks with Iran aimed at halting its uranium enrichment programme. After a new round of talks failed in Istanbul in January, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton sent a letter to Tehran inviting Iranian officials to return to the negotiating table. Iran responded this month that it is ready for new talks, adding that the ball is in the court of the six. Meanwhile: The European Union imposed sanctions Monday on Syrian President Bashar Assad over the continuing crackdown on anti-government protesters, in which more than 900 people have reportedly been killed.