AFP, Washington, 1 Dec 2011 – Washington on Thursday welcomed a decision by the European Union to tighten sanctions against Syria and Iran, a move it said demonstrates international resolve to combat ‘unacceptable’ behavior by those regimes.
‘We applaud the EU’s determination to pressure these regimes to end their unacceptable actions, as well as its readiness to consider further steps going forward,’ a White House statement said.
The European Union singled out Syria’s energy and financial sectors to punish President Bashar al-Assad’s regime for its crackdown on dissidents, adopting bans on exporting gas and oil industry equipment to Syria, trading Syrian government bonds and selling software that could be used to monitor Internet and telephone communications.
Europe also agreed to refrain from providing concessional loans to Syria — credit at lower rates and longer grace periods than what is offered by the markets.
The EU also piled pressure on Iran following an attack on the British embassy, beefing up sanctions Thursday over Tehran’s nuclear program and threatening that it would target its oil and finance sectors next.
In the statement, the White House welcomed the EU measures, noting that Washington recently undertook similar sanctions of its own against both countries.
‘These steps signal once again the resolve of the international community to address the assault on the fundamental rights of the Syrian people by the Assad regime, along with the continued failure of the Iranian regime to meet its international obligations,’ the White House said.