EU plans to ease some sanctions against Iran soon
By Sara Rajabova
The European Union (EU) said the bloc could lift some sanctions against Iran in December or January as part of the deal between Tehran and world powers in Geneva.
Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said at the moment there is a proposal for the easing of a limited number of sanctions, Press TV reported.
He, however, refused to name the exact date when the initial decisions on the issue would happen, adding it could be in December, or in January.
Mann said the EU experts should prepare the draft amendment to the sanctions legislation that must be endorsed by the EU foreign ministers later.
He said the timing of the partial sanctions removal depends on how long the legislative process takes, adding that it would be coordinated with Iran.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius earlier said EU foreign ministers would meet in a few weeks to present a proposal to partially lift some sanctions imposed by the bloc against Iran as agreed in the recent deal.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the US - plus Germany sealed an interim deal on Nov. 24 to pave the way for the full resolution of the West's decade-old dispute with Iran over the country's nuclear energy program.
In exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the United States and its allies have undertaken to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran.
The White House has warned the U.S. congress not to impose any new sanctions on Iran, saying that such a move could jeopardize the ongoing diplomatic efforts.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the any additional sanctions before the diplomatic window could be pursued would undermine the U.S.'s credibility about the goal of these sanctions.
"We're not sanctioning just for the sake of sanctions, and we're not sanctioning the Iranians specifically to punish them. We have these sanctions in place to pressure Iran to consider and pursue a diplomatic option. That diplomatic opportunity has presented itself, and we should pursue it," Earnest said.
Earnest's warning message to Capitol Hill came after a number of Republican and Democratic lawmakers called for tougher sanctions against Iran.
A number of US lawmakers in both chambers had expressed skepticism about the interim agreement, with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying the senate might pursue stronger sanctions against Iran despite the nuclear dea