EU FMs Fail to Agree on Iran Oil Embargo

Britain Said Syria Crackdown Was Reason to Embargo Iran

Efforts to impose massive new sanctions on Iran at any and all opportunities saw a surprising failure today when the European Union failed to impose a full oil embargo on the nation, a move officials hoped would “cripple” their economy.

The justification for the embargo wasn’t entirely clear, and British officials pushed it as having something to do with the Syrian government’s crackdown on protesters, as well as an attack on the British embassy which US officials have said doesn’t appear to have been backed by the Iranian government.

France blamed the failure to impose the embargo on Greece, which buys considerable oil from Iran. They said efforts to convince everyone of the embargo will continue, with efforts to find Greece another source of oil taking center stage.

So far the anti-Iran sanctions have done considerable damage to the nation’s civilian economy, but has actually bolstered government-owned businesses, which were able to better circumvent the measures. The oil embargo has been controversial because while officials agree it would really stick it to Iran, it would likely also do massive damage to the world’s energy market at a time when the global economy is still struggling.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.