EU set to sharply expand Iran sanctions — diplomats

Reuters: The European Union is expected to significantly expand its sanctions against Iran on Monday, adding about 100 companies to its embargo list, EU diplomats said on Thursday.

BRUSSELS, May 19 (Reuters) – The European Union is expected to significantly expand its sanctions against Iran on Monday, adding about 100 companies to its embargo list, EU diplomats said on Thursday.

“There is a list of about a 100 companies, to be added to the EU sanctions on Monday,” one EU diplomat said.

Another diplomat said Germany’s Hamburg-based Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank (European-Iranian Trade Bank — EIH) would be included in the bloc’s new sanctions, which are intended to target Tehran’s nuclear programme.

“Among those companies is the European Iranian … Bank,” he said. “There would now be enough evidence that the bank financed companies involved in Iran’s nuclear programme.”