By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels
Suspicions that Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons culminated on Dec 23 in a UN resolution demanding that Teheran halt uranium enrichment by Feb 21. But Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president, remains contemptuous of the international efforts.
Resolution 1737 bans transfers of sensitive nuclear technology to Iran, freezes financial assets of named people associated with the nuclear programme and asks countries to pass on information about the whereabouts of listed individuals.
EU diplomats are looking to go further by hitting Iranian officials or scientists connected to the programmes with travel bans and by extending sanctions beyond people on the UN blacklist.
Officials and diplomats have also indicated that the EU will take steps at the national level to stop Iranian students coming to Europe to study “proliferation-sensitive subjects” in universities.
