EU Approves Stiffer Sanctions against Iran

The European Union (EU) has approved stiffer sanctions against Iran in another effort to pressure Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment program. The EU froze all assets of Bank Melli, Iran's largest bank with branches in the EU. Western nations have charged that the bank aids the Iranian nuclear program, and the United States put the bank on its black list year, freezing assets within the U.S.



Iran had denied media reports that it withdrew $75 billion from the bank in anticipation of the sanctions.