Iran files 20 complaints with European Courts against EU sanctions

[News_Editor]

Iran files 20 complaints with European Courts against EU sanctions

2011-06-11 06:03:56 GMT+7 (ICT)

TEHRAN (BNO NEWS) -- The Iranian government on Friday announced that it filed 20 complaints with a number of European courts against the European Union's sanctions against Iran, the Fars news agency reported.

Majid Jaafarzadeh, head of the International and Legal Affairs Department of Iran's Presidential Office, said that the 20 lawsuits challenged the 'illegal' sanctions imposed due to its civilian nuclear program.

"So far, 20 complaints have been filed at the European courts over the EU sanctions against Tehran," said Jaafarzadeh. "In recent years, many attempts have been made by Iran to counter the sanctions by means of international legal actions."

In addition, Jaafarzadeh announced that cases of human rights violations resulting from the EU restrictions on Iran are being followed at both national and international levels and results are expected in the near future.

The complaints were filed following the EU's strengthening of the restrictive measures previously imposed against Iran on May 23. The European Council placed a number of additional names on the lists of designated persons and entities subjected to the measures.

Both the United States and the United Kingdom welcomed the decision of the European Union to expand its sanctions on Iran as long as it refuses to fulfill its international obligations.

The reinforced EU sanctions came shortly before Iran announced plans to expand its nuclear fuel production capacity in order to increase its production of 20 percent enriched uranium by three times.

The enriched uranium will then be used to supply fuel to its Tehran research reactor which produces radioisotopes for medicinal use as Iran had ran out of nuclear fuel and decided to produce its own 20-percent-enriched uranium.

Iran has repeatedly claimed that its nuclear program has always pursued peaceful means and said it is a civilian path to provide power to Iran's growing population, as fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

However, it was discovered that in 2003 Iran concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In June 2010, the United Nations Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions, engineered by the U.S., over Iran's nuclear program.

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