Iran nuclear: Italy backs fresh sanctions says Foreign Minister

AKI: Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has said that Italy would back key European states and support further sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.

Adnkronos International

Rome, 22 May (AKI) – Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has said that Italy would back key European states and support further sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.

"I think that the whole of Europe, Italy included, should be united about sanctions against Iran, already backed by Germany, France, Great Britain and the United States." said Frattini in an interview with Italian daily La Stampa on Thursday.

Frattini said he wanted Italy to support fresh sanctions applied through the United Nations.

Last week, Frattini said in an interview with London's Financial Times newspaper that he wanted Italy to join the US and other European countries in being "very firm" on Iran.

Frattini said that Italy wanted to become a "facilitator" to improve dialogue between the US and Iran. He said that this would be a policy of the new centre-right government, headed by Silvio Berlusconi.

Italy was cited as Iran's biggest trading partner among EU states, after trade between them reached 6 billion euros in 2007.